


Oil & Vinegar

by neighborhoodspaceman



Category: Ocean's 8 (2018)
Genre: 'done' as some would say, (i am some), F/F, and messed with it, for weeks, i started writing this and lost my flow, mONTHS ago, now here it is, really uh really did stuff to and for me, the scene in the movie with lou wearing that chef's coat, then i buried it, then i dug it up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-01-07 07:46:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 25,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18406241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neighborhoodspaceman/pseuds/neighborhoodspaceman
Summary: Debbie and Tammy are business partners. They have a thriving event planning/coordinating business. Anything from weddings, corporate events, and high society social gatherings. They do it all and they do it well.Lou owns and operates her own catering business. Having recently relocated from Southern California, she wants to build her clientele and have her company’s name on everyone who’s anyone’s speed dial.What happens when the event planners need the caterer just as much as the caterer needs them, but neither will admit it?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> OK SO. This fic is entirely and completely done! I'll try to post a chapter a day, and I say try because I forget _everything_ , but if I do miss a day feel free to (read: pretty please) remind me.

A week before Thanksgiving and Debbie sat in the waiting room of the hospital feeling as nervous as a human being could possibly feel. She’d read every magazine that was abandoned there. Every pamphlet at the nurse’s station. She’d checked her email at least fifty times. She paced the length of the chairs lined up against the wall. She’d been to the vending machine three times and bought nothing. She was in the middle of attempt number 7 of what she and only she would call origami when one of the nurses opened the door to the hallway and popped her head out.

 

“Debbie?”

 

Her head shot up so fast she nearly injured her neck. “Yes. I’m Debbie. Is she done? Is she awake? Can I see her?”

 

The nurse smiled and opened the door further so she could pass. “She’s tired, but she insisted I allow you in to see her.”

 

“Yeah, she’s very persuasive.” 

 

The nurse stopped in front of a room. “She’s in here, but please be as quiet as you can be.”

 

Debbie nodded. She quietly tip-toed inside the room. Tammy looked up and saw her friend. With tears in her eyes she smiled at Debbie.

 

“Hey, sweetie. This is your aunt Debbie. She’s your godmother and the best person you will ever meet.”

 

Without noticing, Debbie was crying. “She’s beautiful. Hey, you precious little angel. What’s her name?”

 

“Eliza”

 

“Eliza, your mommy now has an extra special reason to be thankful at Thanksgiving this year. You and I are going to drive her crazy, I just know it.”

 

Tammy smiles at her best friend’s interaction with her newborn daughter.

 

Debbie looked around the room. “Where’s Tom?”

 

Tammy looked away and Debbie immediately knew she’d done something wrong.

 

“Tammy. Tammy what’d you do?”

 

“Nothing! He just went downstairs to the cafeteria to get something to eat. He fainted earlier and his blood sugar was probably low.”

 

“Tom, your husband, had his blood sugar drop so low he fainted?”

 

“Mhm, he just needed a snack.”

 

“Tom, the guy who has an appetite of a teenager and has pre-dinner snacks, that Tom?”

 

Tammy just opened her mouth as if to say something and said nothing.

 

“What happened?”

 

“I hate that you know me so well, first of all. But he pulled out his phone with every intention of recording the birth. And I was in the middle of the world’s most painful contraction so my threat sounded a lot more serious than it actually was.”

 

“What did you say to him?”

 

“I told him that if he if he didn’t put his phone away that I would cut off his genitals, paint them gold and hang them on the Christmas tree as ornaments.”

 

“If that sweet little angel weren’t fast asleep right now I’d be laughing loudly, just want you to know that.”

 

Just then Tammy yawned.

 

“I’m gonna head on out. You need to rest now that you have the world’s cutest baby to take care of.”

 

“She is really cute isn’t she?” Tammy had hearts in her eyes.

 

“The cutest. I’ll stop by the cafeteria and tell Tom it’s safe for him and his genitals to come back upstairs ok?”

 

Tammy nodded. “Thanks, Debbie. For everything. You’re the best friend anyone could ever ask for.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. I bet you say that to all the girls.”

 

Debbie waved goodbye and left the room. She walked down the hall towards the elevator thinking about how amazing it is that her best friend had  _ made _ a person. 

 

************************

 

Every year Debbie spent Thanksgiving with her brother Danny and his wife. This year, however, she would be staying in New York to help Tammy with whatever she needed. They knew she was due right around the holiday and had already ordered a full Thanksgiving meal to be delivered.

 

Tammy is rocking Eliza back and forth so she’ll sleep. “Jeez, Debbie, do you think we have enough food?” She says as she looks at the kitchen counter covered in dish after dish.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you forget Tom was coming to dinner? And besides I wanted Eliza’s first Thanksgiving to be memorable.”

 

“She’s a week old, Debbie. She can’t remember anything yet.”

 

“Don’t listen to her, Eliza. Aunt Debbie loves you.”

 

When Tammy realizes she’s finally fallen asleep her eyes go really wide. “I’m gonna put her down in her crib and take a shower real quick. Can you listen to the baby monitor for me please? Tom won’t take long. He just went out to buy wine, but he won’t take long.”

 

Debbie shoos her friend away. “Go on, git. Go shower, you smell like spoiled milk.”

 

************************

 

Around dinnertime Debbie receives a text message from Danny. It’s a photo of him and his wife. The caption was simple “Happy Thanksgiving, Deb”, but she knew he missed her just as much as she missed him. She didn’t get to go out to see them in Vegas often so Thanksgiving weekends were always something to look forward to. 

 

She texted him back a picture of her holding Eliza the day she came home. The caption read “Happy Thanksgiving from me and the cutest baby in the world”.

 

************************

 

After banishing Tammy from the kitchen, Tom and Debbie cleaned up and then she made her way home. With all the turkey she’d had she fell into an easy sleep.

 

At approximately four in the morning Debbie’s phone rings. Thinking it was a wrong number, because who could possibly be calling her at this hour, she answered without even looking at the screen.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Deb?”

 

Upon hearing her sister-in-law’s teary voice she immediately sits up.

 

“Tess? Is everything ok?” Debbie hears Tess start to cry.

 

“Tess, are you alright?” Debbie’s heart is pounding. “Put Danny on.”

 

Tess begins to sob loudly into the phone.

 

“Tess, is Danny there? Is he ok?”

 

All Debbie can hear is sobbing. “No, Deb, he isn’t.”

 

“Tess….” Debbie is already crying. “Tess, is Danny ok? Please tell me what’s happening.”

 

“Debbie….. Danny had a heart attack. He…. he didn’t make it.”

 

Debbie felt sick and dizzy all at the same time. “No, that can’t be true. He texted me earlier today.”

 

“He started feeling chest pains around midnight. I had just called the ambulance when he fell and then….” Tess couldn’t finish her sentence without crying again.

 

“I can’t…. I can’t….”

 

“Debbie, I’m so sorry.”

 

“Tess, I’m flying out there. I’ve just gotta tie up some loose ends here and I’ll be on the first flight out there.”

 

After she hung up Debbie sat in her bed in the same position until the sun came up.


	2. Chapter 2

Debbie waited until she knew Tammy would be up and texted her asking for her to call so Debbie wouldn’t risk waking up Eliza.

 

“Hey, Debbie, what’s up?”

 

“Danny died.”

 

“What?” Tammy asks in an almost panicked tone.

 

“Tess called me around four this morning. He had a heart attack.”

 

“Oh my god, Debbie, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do? I can come over.”

 

“Tammy, don’t be ridiculous. You have a newborn and it’s freezing out. You’re not coming over.”

 

“Is there anything I can do?”

 

“No.” She was quiet on the line a bit. “I’m calling to say that I’ve gotta put things on hold at work for a while ok? I know you’re on maternity leave and before you say anything you’re not giving up your leave.”

 

“Ok.”

 

“I need to go help Tess out with some things and then maybe I’m taking a couple weeks off, ok?

 

“Yes, of course, Deb. Take all the time you need.” Tammy’s heart was breaking for her friend.

 

“Thank you.” Debbie couldn’t manage to say much more without breaking down in tears.

 

“Have a safe trip and if you need anything at all please just let me know. I’m a phone call away.”

 

“I know. Love you, Tam Tam.”

 

“Love you, too, Deb.”

 

************************

 

**_Two Months Later_ **

Tammy hears the knock on her door and hurries to answer it.

 

She opens the door and whispers to Debbie, “I’m gonna go let Tom know I’m leaving. I’ll be right down, go call us an Uber.”

 

After a few minutes Tammy makes her way downstairs and they get in the car on their way to lunch.

 

They arrive and get seated very quickly and soon place their orders.

 

Tammy looks at her friend and squeezes her hand. “How are you?”

 

“I was able to sleep last night. It was only three hours, but it was three consecutive hours at least.”

 

“Have you tried melatonin?”

 

“Yeah, that’s  _ how _ I was able to sleep last night.” 

 

Tammy looked at Debbie with sympathy in her eyes. “Eat. It’ll help. I’m not sure if that’s true but that’s what Tom always says.”

 

Debbie smiles softly. “How is he? And Eliza? I miss her.”

 

“She’s grown!” The waitress brings them their food. “You need to stop by more often.”

 

“I will, I promise.”

 

“So, while I do miss seeing you regularly, this lunch date has a motive. And while I know you’re probably still not up for it, I’m gonna throw the idea out there anyway because keeping busy right now is probably better.”

 

“Let’s hear it.”

 

“On New Year’s Eve Tom and I went to a party his boss’s wife, Rose Weil, was throwing. A pre-inauguration for her new boutique of sorts, she’s a designer. Not super famous or anything, but she was mentioned in Vogue’s last issue.”

 

“Alright, and…”

 

“And well the Governor was there! We were all talking and he mentioned that his daughter had gotten engaged over Christmas and had  _ already _ started looking for wedding planners.”

 

“Yeah….”

 

“And Tom’s boss mentioned that we own an event planning business.”

 

“Tammy, just say it.”

 

“Governor Kluger wants us to plan his daughter Daphne’s wedding!”

 

Debbie stops for a minute and takes a sip of her iced tea. “Yeah, we’ll do it. Of course.”

 

“Really? You’re ok with this? Because if you’re not I can-”

 

“It’s exactly what we need. What I need.”

 

With Tammy on maternity leave and Debbie taking time off, the business suffered. In more ways than one. They had taken a bit of a hit financially and all their go-to contacts had picked up other jobs for fear of suffering financially too.

 

“We’ll have to work twice as hard since we don’t have people anymore, but we can do it.” Tammy was a beacon of positivity in that moment.

 

“When’s the wedding?”

 

Tammy stuffed a forkful of food in her mouth and looked away.

 

“Tammy… when is the wedding.”

 

“In May. May 21st.”

 

“Shit, just over three months to plan. Ok, it’ll be close but we can do it I think. I’ll just have to hope that a miracle happens and we can get people with that exact weekend available.”

 

“Ok, you can tell them we’ll do it. We can meet up later in the week at the office to get the papers signed.” The gears in Debbie’s head were already in motion.

 

“Yeah about that… It’s done. All the papers have been signed.”

 

And for the first time in weeks Debbie smiles. “I can always count on you, Tammy.”

 

“Our first appointment with the bride, Daphne, I suppose we should start getting used to calling her by her name, is tomorrow morning at ten.”

 

************************

 

Two weeks into the planning process, they had every detail that Daphne wanted and were ready to start making the calls.

 

Rose Weil was designing the dress. So that was one item crossed off their list. They soon found a florist, a string quartet to play at the wedding and the reception. They found a venue. They found an officiant. They had everything. Except for one thing.

 

“We need a caterer.” Tammy worries out loud.

 

“I know.”

 

“It’s almost Valentine’s day which means we’re halfway through February, the shortest month, and we don’t have a caterer. Wedding receptions have food, we need a caterer.”

 

“Yes, Tammy, I know, but all of our go-to people are booked through the end of the year. We have to find someone new.”

 

“Someone new? Someone we don’t know?”

 

“Can’t be just anyone, though. This is a big account, we can’t fuck this up.” Debbie says almost to herself.

 

“Do you know how many doors this could open for us?”

 

“I know which is why we have to be smart about this. People will go to weddings won’t recall a damn thing even if you pay them. No one gives a shit about which flowers were in the centerpiece arrangements, but everyone remembers if the food is shit.”

 

Tammy plopped down on the couch next to Debbie. 

 

“You should go home. Go be with your daughter. It’s Saturday, go relax.”

 

“What about you?”

 

“I’ll be fine.” Tammy looked at her friend with concern in her eyes. “Tammy, I’ll be fine, I promise.”

 

“Maybe I’ll go catch a baby yoga class.”

 

“You do that.” Debbie half smiled at her friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Tammy walked into the office on Monday morning like a woman on a mission. She held a tray with coffee and a brown paper bag.

 

“Good morning, Debbie, I hope you had a good weekend because mine was great.”

 

Debbie watches Tammy as she talks animatedly, nearly gliding through the office.

 

“On Saturday when I left I went to baby yoga, I think Eliza is gonna love it when she’s a bit older by the way, and when I was on my way home I stopped by the butcher’s and guess what I saw.”

 

Debbie opened her mouth to say something, but Tammy cut her off.

 

“A van!”

 

“Ok….”

 

“And someone was carrying things out to said van.  _ Catering _ supplies.”

 

Debbie listened intently.

 

“I spoke to the person loading the van and turns out she’s a trained chef that moved out from LA a little while ago and just started her own catering business.”

 

“I don’t know, Tammy. A van? How do we know she isn’t bullshitting us?”

 

“She was the head chef at one of those celebrity restaurants. I called yesterday and, Debbie, it checks out. She has excellent references and she’s  _ available _ on May 21st.”

 

Debbie still isn’t sure.

 

“Can we at least meet with her? If that meeting goes well we’ll ask her to prepare some stuff for us to sample.”

 

Debbie sighs and reaches for the coffee. “Fine, we can meet with her later in the week.”

 

Tammy holds the brown paper bag close to her chest.

 

“Ok, we’ll meet with her tomorrow then.”

 

Tammy smiles and extends the bag towards Debbie. “Did you get me an-”

 

“Everything bagel, yes. With cream cheese and smoked salmon.”

 

“Tammy, what would I do without you?”

 

“Go hungry and never sleep.”

 

Debbie smiled and took a bite out of her bagel.

 

************************

 

“Where is she? We said ten, right?”

 

“Yes, ten, but she probably ran into some traffic. You know how it gets with the rain this time of year.”

 

“This isn’t a good sign, Tammy.”

 

Tammy’s phone pings and she picks it up so quickly it almost falls from her hand. “She’s running late and says she’ll be here soon. Got stuck in traffic.”

 

Debbie rolls her eyes. “I want it to go on the record that this is a bad idea.”

 

************************

 

There’s a knock at the door and Tammy gets up first so Debbie won’t stare daggers into their only hope at a caterer for this gig.

 

“That’s probably her, please be nice.” Tammy whispers almost threateningly at Debbie.

 

Debbie stays in the conference area and waits for them to arrive. 

 

Tammy walks in and right after her a woman. Tall, blonde, and admittedly stylish.

 

“Lou, this is my business partner Debbie Ocean. Debbie, this is Lou Miller, our knight in shining armour.” Tammy laughs nervously.

 

“Good of you to join us.” Debbie quips dryly as she extends her hand.

 

Lou looks down at it and slowly removes hers from her pocket. “Glad to help you in your time of  _ desperate _ need.” Adding an emphasis to point out that they need her.

 

Tammy can sense the tension and hostility in the air and hopes to god Debbie doesn’t blow this.

 

“Tammy tells me you have a bit of experience in the field?” Debbie asks not really bothering to look up from her notes.

 

Realizing Debbie wasn’t going to look up, Lou directs her attention to Tammy. “Yes, I went to culinary school in Sydney, worked with Chef Gordon Ramsay about seven years and I was head chef at one of his restaurants in LA of which won a Michelin Star while I was there.”

 

“Wow! That’s impressive. I love his shows. Is he really like that in real life?”

 

“Nah, he’s a good guy.”

 

“Right, well, I’m sorry to cut this short, but I just remembered I have something. And I need to get going.”

 

“You don’t have anything, I saw your schedule earlier and-”

 

“I have... a  _ thing _ , Tammy.”

 

Tammy didn’t understand what was happening so she didn’t press any further. “Ok, well, Lou we’re really interested in seeing and sampling your work. Do you think you can bring over a sampling of hors d’oeuvres this week, say Friday?”

 

“Of course, what time should I be here?”

 

“Debbie, is three good for you.”

 

“Yeah, fine.” Debbie was already up and at the door. “Thank you for coming, we’ll see you later in the week.”

 

After Lou had left Tammy sat at her desk and stared at Debbie.

 

Debbie sighs and looks at her finally. “What?”

 

“Oh, nothing, just wondering what crawled up your ass and died is all.”

 

Debbie looks a bit surprised.

 

“You were unnecessarily rude to Lou. What if that little performance costs us? What if she decides she doesn’t want to work with Crabby Ocean?”

 

“First of all, nice one. Second, I’m not crabby. If anyone was rude it was her. She was late, Tammy. You know how I feel about tardiness.”

 

“That’s the flimsiest excuse I’ve ever heard, but I’m too busy to go any further with this.”

 

************************

 

Later that night Debbie walks into her apartment, turns on the lights and heads straight for the kitchen. She drinks a tall glass of water and as she’s doing so she thinks about the tall drink of water she met earlier that day.

 

“It’s not like she’s hot. She’s…. attractive in a way, I guess.” Debbie finished the last of the water.

 

“She can dress, I’ll give her that. And her hands were very soft.”

 

She made her way out of the kitchen and to the stack of mail on the small table where she kept her keys.

 

“A lot of people have soft hands, big deal.”

 

After a few seconds, “She was late though so that’s a no.”

 

“Wait, a ‘no’? As if I’d ever even consider…”

 

Debbie laughed to herself and made her way to the shower. She was tired both physically and mentally.

 

So much so she didn’t even realize she had a lingering smile after thinking about the attractive chef.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad you guys are liking this story!


	4. Chapter 4

It was Friday afternoon and Debbie was in  _ a mood _ . 

 

“What is the matter with you this afternoon?”

 

Debbie pounded the stapler so hard it ripped the papers in her hand. She didn’t answer right away choosing instead to march over to the cupboard and grab a sleeve of crackers.

 

“I didn’t have time for lunch and I don’t want to eat a late lunch because  _ your chef _ is coming with the samples in,” she checks her watch, “less than an hour. Or maybe an hour and a half since she loves being late.”

 

“I’ve known you my whole life practically and we’ve had a business together since forever and I know you’re like a shark because you’re so good at this stuff, but good god you are worse than a child when you’re hungry.”

 

Debbie shot Tammy a glare and tried, but failed, to look intimidating while eating a cracker. 

 

“Sharks get hungry too.”

 

“Well, the shark better clean up her mess unless she wants us to get ants.”

 

************************

 

A little after three Lou arrived with the samples as planned.

 

“Oh, great you’re here! I was worried you’d get caught in the storm.”

 

“I saw it coming, looks like it’s gonna be a big one.”

 

“Yeah, about that. I have to leave early. I want to let my sitter go before the storm arrives and my husband is going to be working late so I have to head home and be with my daughter.”

 

Lou looks at her a little worried.

 

“No, it’s ok, Debbie is staying and she’s hungry so she’ll be a perfect taste tester for your samples!”

 

“Oh, ok.” Lou didn’t sound very excited.

 

“Debbie’s got a very peculiar palate so if you can please her then everyone else will absolutely love your food.” Tammy laughed nervously. “She’s just finishing up a call, but you can set up in the conference room right through there.”

 

Lou begins setting up and just as she’s finishing Debbie walks into the conference room. 

 

“Oh, you’re here,” she looks around the office a bit, “where’s Tammy?”

 

“She mentioned she needed to leave early to beat the storm home and be with her kid.”

 

‘Oh, yes, right.” 

 

Lou’s putting a few items away in the thermal bags she’s brought the food in. With her back turned to the table she says to Debbie, “you can help yourself.”

 

Debbie walks toward the table and looks at the items while holding her hands behind her back as if she’s looking at expensive jewelry.

 

“Presentation’s decent.”

 

Lou crosses her arms and leans against the wall watching Debbie go through her process.

 

“Colorful, but it still looks like food. I hate when food looks too whimsical. Am I supposed to eat it or play with it?”

 

Lou is amused at Debbie speaking her thoughts out loud.

 

“These crackers, we can’t have crackers. The bride says she doesn’t want any gluten on the menu.”

 

“I can sub those for rice crackers easily.”

 

Debbie looks up at her a bit surprised. 

 

“You know rice crackers exist right?” Lou said in disbelief.

 

“Not all of us went to culinary school.” Debbie said with an annoyed edge in her voice.

 

Lou scoffed and threw her head back slightly. She tried to focus on how important this job was and how she couldn’t tell Debbie to shove it.

 

“Are you too good for the food us mere mortals eat?” Debbie noticed she was getting under Lou’s skin and got just a little bit happy.

 

“No, but I do my best to try new things. Which is something I think you need to start doing if I’m to go off the look you gave the spinach puree.”

 

Debbie froze. “That green sauce was  _ spinach?! _ ”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

“Excuse me.” Debbie left the room.

  
A few minutes later she walks back in drinking tonic water.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“Yeah, I just….  _ really hate _ spinach.”

 

Lou looks at her a moment. “You didn’t know it was spinach until I said it was though.”

 

Debbie opens her mouth to retort but doesn’t say anything. 

 

“You’re worse than a child, you know that?” Lou sits down heavily.

 

“Hey, I get enough shit from Tammy about that, I don’t need any from you either.” Debbie spat back. 

 

Lou gets up and starts to pack. “I have another appointment so I have to get going.”

 

Debbie’s annoyed but still hungry. “You can leave the food. Take the spinach though.” She took another generous drink of tonic water.

 

“Unbelievable” Lou mutters under her breath.

 

“I’m picky, not deaf.”

 

After she’s all packed Lou extends her hand to shake Debbie’s hand goodbye. “I look forward to hearing from you both.”

 

“We should have an answer for you by Monday morning.”

 

************************

 

Debbie sat on her couch, television on in the background, while she Skyped with Tammy.

 

“Well, I do love her presentation. Everything looks so pretty!” Tammy exclaimed as she looked at the pictures Debbie sent her of the food from earlier.

 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. It looks nice, but it still looks like food, you know?”

 

“Yeah, I forgot about your ‘food has too look like food’ thing.”

 

“Well, I need to know what to do with it, Tam! If it looks like silly putty I’m not gonna wanna eat it.”

 

Tammy chuckles on the other end. “What about taste? Is it any good?”

 

Debbie doesn’t answer right away.

 

“Uh oh, I know that look. Debbie please don’t start with the pickiness. We’re on a very tight deadline here and I don’t think we can find another caterer-”

 

“Tammy, relax, God. The food is good.”

 

Tammy looks at her friend a tad surprised. “Then what’s with the face?”

 

“That’s just my face, but thank you for the confidence boost.” 

 

Tammy smiles. “You only make that face when you don’t like the food or when you’ve you eaten something you don’t li-” Tammy realizes something. “Wait, in the photos you sent me, was the green puree, was that a spinach puree?”

 

Debbie nods.

 

“Debbie, I swear, if you declined her services because you accidentally ate spinach I will kill you. I will.”

 

“Yes, I did eat spinach, and no I didn’t decline her services. I was, if I’m being honest, a little surprised.”

 

“How so?”

 

“Just between us? I didn’t hate the spinach sauce. I mean, yes, I had a reaction to eating it, but I didn’t hate it.”

 

“Am I hearing you correctly? Did you say you enjoyed the spinach?”

 

“Ok, you don’t have to make a thing over it, ok. I didn’t  _ enjoy _ it. I liked it is all.”

 

“That’s it, we’re hiring her. I’m calling her first thing Monday morning and drawing up the contract.”

 

“Ugh, that means I’m gonna have to see her again.” Debbie moaned.

 

“I don’t understand why you dislike her so much. She’s been nothing but professional and courteous with us both. And she seems really cool too. She dresses like a fashion rock star.”

 

“A fashion rockstar?”

 

“Like if David Bowie and Anna Wintour had a baby.”

 

“That’s one cool and well dressed baby.”

 

Tammy chuckled and said goodbye to her friend, “Ok, Debbie, goodnight. I’m gonna go pass the fuck out until Eliza wakes up screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night.”

 

“Night, Tam Tam.”


	5. Chapter 5

Monday morning rolls around and they’re both fast at work. Debbie is looking at menu options that would go with the theme of the wedding so she can email Daphne for her approval when Tammy walks by her desk.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Apparently something I’m about to get scolded for, why?”

 

“You are not looking at menu options by yourself. Lou will be here any minute now so please wait for her to do that.”

 

“I can do this, Tammy, I don’t need a babysitter.”

 

“No, you can’t and Lou isn’t a babysitter, she’s a professionally trained chef so I’m thinking doing this with her is a good idea.”

 

“Fine, but I’m gonna declare veto power.”

 

“No, you’re not. You’re gonna listen to her intently and then after you two have come up with a couple menus you’ll email Daphne, the bride, and she will choose.”

 

“What if she chooses a horrible menu?”

 

“I feel like you’re not in the position to be judging people’s taste in food.”

 

Debbie doesn’t argue. Just then Tammy’s phone pings.

 

“Shit.” 

 

“What?”

 

“The string quartet we booked wants to back out. They’re willing to give us back our deposit and everything.”

 

“Do we have a backup?”

 

“No. Shit!” Tammy begins tossing a few things in her purse, “I’m gonna go talk to the Cellist.”

 

“But, the catering lady is coming…”

 

“Ok?”

 

“Tammy, please don’t leave me alone with her. She’s so…. I just don’t like her.”

 

“Debbie, put on your big girl pants and just do it, ok? I might take a while.”

 

Debbie groans at the thought of  _ having _ to spend even a minute alone with the catering lady.

 

“Don’t fuck this up,” Tammy calls as she opens the door, “oh, and please CC me on the email you send Daphne. Bye!”

 

************************

 

Not thirty minutes later Lou arrives. She’s carrying a briefcase and still has her sunglasses on.

 

“Hello, good morning.”

 

“Hi, Tammy had to leave.”

 

“Oh, is her kid alright?”

 

“Yeah, she’s doing great,” Debbie smiles at the thought of her goddaughter.

 

“I didn’t know you could do that.”

 

Debbie stares at her expecting an answer.

 

“Smile. I usually see you scowling as if you just crawled out from under your sad little bridge.”

 

Debbie wants to be mad but ends up laughing. “I’ll give you that one, but  _ only _ that one.” She immediately turns around and walks to her desk expecting Lou to follow her. They both take a seat, Debbie in her chair and Lou on the opposite side of the desk.

 

“Ok, so tell me about the bride. What’s she like?”

 

“You know Mayor Kluger? It’s his daughter. I don’t have much information on her, but Tammy left me an entire binder filled with stuff about her. It’s like a scrapbook filled with everything she could find about her online. If it were anyone else I’d advise Daphne to get a restraining order, but this is just Tammy. She’s very-”

 

“Thorough,” they say at the same time.

 

“I was packing my van for a party when she approached me on the street and gave me a full job interview. She had her baby in a carrier and I was afraid she’d get motion sickness with the way Tammy was walking back and forth with me.”

 

“That’s Tammy. She’s the very personification of perfectionism. When she got engaged she didn’t even need a wedding planner.” Debbie says and she taps a pen on her desk.

 

“Well if she’s so competent why doesn’t she just run this business herself?” Lou challenges.

 

“I’ll have you know that while Tammy is the heart of this company, I’m the one who deals with the people.”

 

Lou gives her an ‘and?’ look.

 

“You name it and I’ve put out that fire. Brides who get cold feet, brides who fight with the groom the night before and want to cancel the wedding, brides who find out they really can’t get married to the groom because they’re in love with their maid of honor… like I said, you name it.”

 

Lou gives her a nod, “you’re a fire extinguisher then.”

 

Debbie smiles slightly, “in a way, yeah.”

 

Debbie picks up the binder, “ok let’s get to it,” slightly uncomfortable at having had a positive interaction with this person she had already decided she didn’t like. “You can bring your chair around here, I haven’t looked at this yet and I think it’ll speed things up if we look together.”

 

Lou brings her chair and briefcase around. She pulled out a legal pad and found a blank page, then dug around for a pen. “Ready.”

 

“What’s that for?”

 

“I like to take notes when I have to create something, whether it be a menu or a dish, for a client. It helps to write down specifics. Gives me a clearer idea of what would suit the situation and their taste.”

 

************************

 

Several hours later and they’ve only made it halfway through the binder.

 

“How did she get her hands on all this information?” Lou asks incredulously as she looks over the menu for Daphne’s 21st birthday ball from a few years ago.

 

“Tammy has her ways. I always tell her that in a past life she was probably a very good criminal.”

 

Lou looks over the menu once more, “wait. Look.” She hands it to Debbie and flips to a page in the binder with an article from some society magazine about Daphne spending her summer in the Hamptons. “And here too.”

 

Debbie looks at both but doesn’t immediately notice any correlation.

 

“There’s no seafood on her birthday menu and she’s in the Hamptons during the summer at a clambake at the beach and she’s holding a hot dog.”

 

“Ohhhh, no seafood. That means-”

 

“No, shrimp.”

 

“I mean, she’s not allergic, her only food allergy is cinnamon. So, we could technically put in on the menu…”

 

“You like shrimp.”

 

“Yes”

 

Lou looks almost amused. “It’s her wedding and you want to add something to the menu that she hates but you like.”

 

“Listen, her menu is already gluten free, what’s to keep her from serving everyone kale smoothies?”

 

“Ah, you’re one of those.”

 

“No, I’m not. I eat my greens, but I just feel like the menu for a wedding should be something a bit more extravagant, indulgent. Something people will remember.”

 

“No shrimp. And don’t worry, even if she does choose to serve kale smoothies, you’ll have proper food to eat.”

 

“What makes you so sure?”

 

“I’m the caterer remember? I’m in charge of food. I always bring food for me and my crew when we work. It’s like insurance in case we don’t like the menu.”

 

Debbie looks at her for a moment. “Hmm, deal.” And as if on cue Debbie starts getting a headache. “Ok, I need food soon or I’ll pass out. Wanna grab lunch?” She asks standing up and putting on her jacket.

 

“Oh, I think we missed that window.” Lou glances at her watch realizing they’re between the lunch and dinner times most restaurants stick to.

 

“It’s fine, we can get a hotdog at the convenience store two blocks over.” Debbie casually suggests as they walk to the elevator.

 

“Excuse me?” Debbie looks startled, “no, absolutely not. Come on, we can be at my place in twenty minutes. I’ll make us some real food.”

 

“No spinach” She says as holds the door open for Lou.

 

“Yeah, yeah I remember.”


	6. Chapter 6

Forty five minutes later and they’re in Lou’s kitchen as she places a plate in each of their spots.

 

“There you go. Real food. No, questionable hotdogs.”

 

“What do you have against hotdogs?” Debbie asks she pulls out her phone taking a couple of shots of the food.

 

“Nothing, as long as they don’t look ill.”

 

“You’re a food snob.” Debbie accuses.

 

“You’re a picky eater.” Lou retorts.

 

Debbie smiles as she chews and Lou starts thinking of other things she could say that might make her smile again.

 

“This is really, really good!”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“I’m serious, this is amazing.” Debbie sips her water. “Have you ever thought about opening your own restaurant?”

 

“That used to be the goal, to have my own fine dining restaurant. But too many things got in the way. I ended up working under a few of my idols and eventually as a head chef.” Debbie listens intently. “I wasn’t getting back what I wanted in those jobs.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I like food and I like how it’s so strongly tied to culture and people. In a restaurant, I’m in the kitchen, I make the food, plate it and send it out. I don’t get to see who I’m cooking for or their reaction once they try the food.”

 

“So, that’s why you started catering.”

 

Lou nods. “I’ve done big events, corporate events, stuff like that, but what I really like are the smaller events. Weddings, birthdays, holidays, things like that. It’s more… personal.”

 

“I get what you mean. Tammy always likes the big events. I think because they’re always a challenge and she gets a lot of satisfaction when a big conference goes well. But me? I prefer the smaller things too.”

 

Lou puts the leftover pasta in a plastic container and slides it over to Debbie. “Here, so you can eat real food for dinner and steer clear of sickly tubed meat.”

 

Debbie laughs, “thank you. But I’m not swearing off hotdogs.”

 

“You don’t have to, just please don’t eat any that are older than you.” 

 

Debbie laughs openly. “Let me help you with those dishes.”

 

“It’s alright, I’ll take care of those later. We should head back, let me use the bathroom quickly and we can go. Make yourself comfortable.”

 

So she did. She walked around Lou’s living room looking at her books, the few pictures on the wall, and her DVD collection. Debbie comes back to the framed photographs on the wall, specifically to one of Lou, an elderly woman and a dog.

 

Lou walks back out and sees Debbie looking at the picture and stops dead in her tracks not expecting for Debbie to have studied her pictures.

 

Not wanting to make Lou talk about something that clearly was something she didn’t want to talk about, Debbie walks back to the kitchen counter, grabs her purse, her leftovers and says to her, “come on, we’re gonna be late.”

 

Silently thankful that Debbie didn’t ask anything she puts her rings back on and heads out the door behind Debbie.

 

************************

 

At around 7 pm Debbie gets a text from Tammy. She’s looking at the binder and doesn’t see her phone light up.

 

Lou does, however, and notices that Debbie has a picture of her and a man that’s a few years older as her lock screen. Debbie looks up to see her look at the phone and consequently at the picture on the lock screen.

 

Just as Debbie had done earlier, Lou doesn’t ask about the picture. “I think you got a text.” She says and goes over to the water cooler for a drink.

 

“Tammy says she convinced the band to take the gig.”

 

“What?”

 

“Oh, that’s right. The reason Tammy wasn’t here is because the string quartet we booked wanted to back out, apparently because they broke up? But Tammy convinced them to get back together and do it. Well done, Tammy.”

 

Debbie looks at her lock screen at the picture of her and Danny again and notices, for the first time, how late it is. “I say we call it a day. I’m tired. I wanna go home and eat my leftovers while I binge watch something on Netflix.”

 

Lou laughs at the picture Debbie painted. “You mind if I ask why you took that photo of your food at lunch?”

 

“I have this weird thing that I like food to be presented beautifully, but it still has to look like food. Not modeling clay or a toy. Those cakes that look like a ship or a purse? Those irritate me beyond belief. I can’t explain why, I just need the thing I’m gonna eat to not look like an object that I can’t eat.”

 

“You know, if you’d like, I can send you pictures of the stuff I make.” Lou lets the suggestion hang in the air.

 

“Yeah, ok, I’d like that. Although it’s just gonna make me twice as hungry, but ok.” She smiles and leans against her desk on the opposite side she’d sit. She reaches over onto her desk grabbing Post-It notes and a pen. She scribbles her name and number on the paper and hands it over to Lou before she walks out.

 

“I’m saving you in my phone as Old Hotdogs so I can remember who it is.” Debbie laughs and Lou lingers by the door. “Same time tomorrow, right?”

 

“Same time tomorrow.”

 

And with a smile and look that lasted maybe a couple seconds too long Lou closes the door behind leaving Debbie feeling something that she couldn’t place.

 

************************

 

“He did WHAT?!”

 

“Yeah, the violinist and the cellist are twins, identical twins. So one tried to pose as the other and take a loan out at the bank to start a side business.”

 

“What sort of business? I imagine their line of work isn’t very well paid.”

 

“No, it isn’t and he wanted to be a magician. A professional magician.”

 

“Like David Copperfield?” Debbie laughs.

 

“Yeah. Anyway, I convinced them to at least do our gig and then after that they could decide if they wanted to stay together or not.”

 

“You’re a saint, Tammy. Hold on I’m putting you on speaker.” Debbie places her phone on the couch’s armrest and goes back to the kitchen to grab her food. She takes her container out of the microwave using the tips of her fingers whispering ‘hot, hot,hot’ all the way to the couch.

 

“Microwaving leftover takeout again? Why don’t you ever just come over for dinner?”

 

“It’s not leftover  _ takeout _ , it’s leftovers from lunch. Home made. And you have enough on your plate when you get home as it is.”

 

“Hold the phone, you cooked?”

 

“I never said I cooked.” Debbie shovels a forkful of pasta into her mouth, “god this is so good. I’m apologizing in advance if I make you uncomfortable with the noises I’m about to make.”

 

“Ok, it’s definitely not your cooking, you just said it was good.”

 

“Tammy, can you hear me flipping you off? Because that’s exactly what I’m doing right now.”

 

Tammy’s laugh pours out of the phone’s speaker.

 

“Lou cooked.”

 

“You’re on a first name basis with her now? What happened to Catering Lady?”

 

“Eh, she’s not as rude as I thought she was. Plus, she makes the best Cacio e Pepe pasta I have  _ ever _ eaten.”

 

“See, this is what I always tell you. You need to open up more to new people.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.”

 

“I’m right, you can say it. I’ll wait.”

 

“Goodnight, Tammy. Tell Eliza I love her and only her.”

 

“Oh, I’m bringing her in tomorrow, there aren’t new clients scheduled tomorrow are there?”

 

“No one new, but Lou will be there.”

 

“Oh, um, let me see if-”

 

“It’s fine, bring her in. I haven’t seen in her in too long.”

 

Tammy smiles and it’s noticeable as she speaks, “Night, Debbie.”

 

Debbie goes back to watching some crime documentary when her phone pings.

 

It’s a picture message from Lou of a beautiful plate of sushi accompanied by a small container with what Debbie can only assume is sake.

 

**Lou:** A little late but it still counts

 

Debbie looks at the details in the photo and wonders if Lou might’ve made it as a photographer in another life. She grabs her empty container off the coffee table and places it on her lap, she grabs her phone and takes a picture of it empty with her fork still in it.

 

**Debbie:** I inhaled this in a record breaking amount of time that I am unwilling to disclose.

 

**Lou:** Hahaha, well just remember that the plastic dish isn’t edible. It fucks up your digestion.

 

**Debbie:** Too late, just ate it. Hey, how do you take your coffee? I’m bringing you coffee as a thank you for the two meals you gave me. You kept me from my hotdogs, but it was well worth it.

 

**Lou:** Bit of milk, one sugar. Make it strong.

 

**Debbie:**  Got it. See you tomorrow morning.

 

**Lou:** See ya.

 

Debbie made herself some chamomile tea so she’d get to sleep faster because although she can’t say why, she’s really looking forward to tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

Debbie walks in carrying a tray with three coffees on it. She walks by Tammy’s desk and places hers in the middle and walks all the way to her desk and places the tray on it. She makes her way over to the kitchen area and puts the bag with the three pastries she bought on the counter.

Not five minutes later there’s a knock on the door. She makes her way over and opens the door to find Lou on the other side, sunglasses on still.

“Hey, you’re here. Come in.” She goes to the sink to wash her hands. “Your coffee’s on my desk and your pastry is on the counter.”

“Thanks, but you really didn’t have to.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She says as she dries her hands. “Ok, so we have three sample menus, and I figure that’s ok for most people, but this is the Governor’s daughter so I thought maybe we send her five sample menus. What do you think?”

Lou sips her coffee, “great idea. Also,  _ great _ coffee. Where’d you get this?”

“It’s a coffee shop down the block from where I live.”

“Well, it’s really good. Nice and strong and the beans are fresh, I can tell.”

“My palate is not as refined as yours so I couldn’t tell the difference even if I didn’t get a bunch of hazelnut syrup pumped into mine.”

“You know, putting syrup into coffee this good should be a crime.”

“Then call the police, because I refuse to drink that stuff black. It tastes like concentrated sadness.”

“That’s an oddly accurate description.”

The sound of keys can be heard at the door and the two women see Tammy walk in. Debbie all but runs over taking the carrier from Tammy and bringing it over to the couch.

“Have her cheeks gotten even more plump or do I just miss her?” Debbie says chuckling at Tammy.

“She’s built like a lumberjack, gets that from Tom.”

Debbie looks at Lou, “her husband is built like a tree.”

“My whole family’s tall too, I’m the short one of the bunch.”

“You’re the short one?!” Tammy asks Lou incredulously.

Lou nods and sips her coffee. “I ate a lot of spinach.” She says as she casts a sideways glance at Debbie and Tammy laughs.

“Hear that, Debbie? If you had eaten your greens you might’ve been a supermodel! And easier to cook for.”

They sit and chat over their coffee and pastries as Debbie fawns over her goddaughter. She insists on giving her her bottle and burping her. Only Debbie’s baby burping skills aren’t great and Eliza ends up throwing up on Debbie’s shirt. 

Tammy and Lou’s first reaction is to cackle like chickens.

“I’m glad you two are having all this fun at my expense. She turns to Eliza, ‘it’s ok sweetie, I know you didn’t mean it’.”

Tammy wipes a tear from her eye, “ok, we gotta go if we’re gonna make her doctor’s appointment on time.” Tammy picks up the carrier and says goodbye to the two, takes one last glance at Debbie and laughs as she walks out the door.

Lou looks at Debbie and sniffs in her direction, “not to add salt to the wound or anything, but you smell like sour milk.”

“Gimme a minute, I’m gonna go see if I still have any spare gym shirts in the back room.”

Debbie comes back a few minutes later with a t-shirt with a worn out image of a naked baby swimming in a pool on it.

“Was that shirt stolen from an ex-boyfriend because I don’t believe for one second you ever listened to Nirvana.”

“Don’t be so sure about things you don’t know ok?” Debbie says almost playfully. “Come on, let’s get these last two menus planned.”

************************

They work all morning barely noticing the time go by so enthralled in their work they were. When it was a little past 1 pm Debbie started getting a headache and suggested rather adamantly they stop for lunch.

“Alright, I’ll let you pick where we have lunch, but please don’t make me regret this.”

Lou smiles and hails a cab. “I don’t know I kind of like the idea of watching you anger-eat a spinach salad.”

Debbie immediately turns around and walks back towards the building. Lou reaches out for her arm and pulls her back toward the cab.

“Don’t be a baby, just trust me.”

************************

They get out at a crowded street and Debbie briefly wonders if there even are any fancy restaurants on this street.

“Are you sure this is the right place?”

“Yeah, just up the street to the left.”

They walk inside and there are maybe a hundred people in a place that maybe fits half that. When Debbie realized where they were she turns to look at Lou in surprise.

“A $5 slice?”

“You don’t like pizza?”

“No, I love pizza, but I just didn’t figure you’d be the type to…”

“You think because I’m a chef I only eat at fancy places?”

“Well, I mean, yes. That’s exactly what I thought.”

“I’ll have you know this is the best $5 slice you can get in this part of town.”

************************

Twenty minutes later they walk out, pizza and drinks in hand. They make their way over to a courtyard of sorts and sit down to eat.

“How did you find this place?”

“Oh, well, they’re open late, I was really drunk and very hungry. A very nice drag queen kept me from getting run over and bought me pizza.”

“I don’t know how they do things in LA, but stumbling around drunk in New York is not the smartest thing to do.”

“It’s a national past time in Australia.”

“Ahhh, so that’s where you’re from.”

“I never mentioned it?”

Debbie shook her head. “Nope, Tammy guessed England but she’s horrible at recognizing accents. We were halfway through The Departed when she asked me if they were from Brooklyn or Queens.”

Lou nearly chokes on her drink.

“What was your first guess?”

“Hmm, I never made a full on guess. I could never pinpoint it. I knew it wasn’t English or Irish. I’ve been there enough times to know that. I knew it wasn’t Scottish. I honestly couldn’t guess. I just kept eliminating places you weren’t from judging by your accent.”

“What, so you made a list?” Lou asks jokingly.

Debbie freezes, looks right at her and lies. “No”

“You did, didn’t you? You made a list.”

“I didn’t and you know what, I don’t care if you believe me.” She picks up their garbage and walks it over to the bin.

Lou watches her, smile lingering a bit.

Debbie comes back brushing the non existent dirt off her hands. “I think we should look over everything once more. Just to be sure.”

“Right, just to be sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Straight up forgot to post for a few days oops lol


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank to the anonymous angel who reminded me to update!

Another late night at the office for both of them. It’s around seven again and as Debbie feels ready to leave she thinks about maybe grabbing a drink before she goes home. She’s even thinking of inviting Lou to go with her.

 

She gets back to her desk from the bathroom and is about to ask her when Lou’s phone rings. The caller ID reads ‘Leslie’.

 

“I’m sorry, I’ve gotta take this.”

 

Lou walks into the conference room and closes the door. She comes out a few minutes later apologizing.

 

“I have to go, I’m sorry. I have to meet someone and it completely slipped my mind. We’ll meet again tomorrow?”

 

Debbie tries not to let her disappointment show. “Yep, tomorrow.”

 

“Oh, tomorrow I can’t make it in the morning. I’ll be here after lunch though. That alright?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine.”

 

“Ok, see you then.”

 

************************

 

About two hours later Debbie is sitting on her couch with a big mug of tea in hand. She picks up her phone and texts Tammy.

 

**Debbie:** If you’re still awake and can talk give me a call

 

Not ten minutes later Tammy calls her.

 

“I am  _ exhausted _ .”

 

“I can only imagine. How was her check up?”

 

“Perfect health. Thankfully. I went grocery shopping with her and she’s quite the little celebrity. Couldn’t get down an aisle without someone stopping to fawn over her.”

 

“Pretty soon it’ll go to her head.”

 

Tammy chuckles, “what’s up with you? You sound sad.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“It’s nothing. It’s stupid.”

 

“Come on, it’s me Debbie you know you can tell me anything right?”

 

“Tammy, it’s nothing. Just some details I’ve been mulling over, nothing important.”

 

“I don’t believe you, but I’ll drop it for now.”

 

The two catch up on each other’s day and lives like old friends do. 

 

“Did you guys get the three sample menus done?”

 

“We decided to send her five. And we’ll probably finish up tomorrow and I’ll email them to her.”

 

“Oh, yes, that’s a good idea. If she likes our work she can get us a ton of business.”

 

“Yeah….” Debbie isn’t 100% invested in the conversation.

 

“Debbie,  you asked me to call you and now you sound like you’re floating off into space.”

 

“Sorry, I’m just a little distracted.”

 

“You were fine this morning. Happy even. And I know for a fact that you’re not capable of that emotion until at least late morning.”

 

“How do you know you like someone? Like, more than just platonically? How can you be sure you’re not confusing platonic chemistry with romantic chemistry?”

 

“Well, I don’t see why you can’t find both of those in the same person. Tom and I were friends for a few years before we started dating, you remember.”

 

Debbie nods. “Yeah, I know, but is there something that can help you tell if you like someone and wanna be friends with them only? Or if you wanna be friends but also bang ‘em.”

 

“Sexual tension usually especially if the feelings are new. Why, who are you crushing on?” Tammy’s interest piques.

 

“I’m not crushing on anyone first of all, I’m just curious about the line between liking someone and  _ liking _ someone.”

 

“I find it’s different with everyone. And depending on the person you’re having those feelings about, it’s different too.”

 

“Do you still get butterflies with Tom?”

 

“Believe it or not I do.” Tammy smiles into the phone. “I’m honestly dumbfounded every morning when I wake up and look at his smushed up sleeping face at how lucky I am.”

 

“You chose well, he’s a great guy.”

 

“Is it that gallery owner? The one we did the opening for?”

 

“Claude? No, we went on a date, but he was so unbelievably self involved I’m sure that if I’d walked out he wouldn’t have even noticed.”

 

“Who then? You have to tell me, Debbie, I’m your best friend.”

 

“Tammy, I’m not crushing on anyone. And if I were you’d be the first to know. You’re the only person in the world that can tell I’m lying. You and Danny.”

 

“He had a lot more practice so he was a little better than me.”

 

“I know. I’m gonna go to bed, this herbal tea has really mellowed me out.”

 

“Night, Debbie.”

 

“Night.”

 

************************

 

The next day around 4pm Lou arrives at the office. Tammy didn’t have any out of office business to attend to so this was her first day seeing Lou and Debbie work together.

 

Lou walks in, sunglasses still on, and casually placing a tote bag on the counter. She removes a plastic container, a French press, a vacuum sealed brick of espresso and a bottle with what looked like honey in it.

 

“Who wants coffee and pastries?”

 

“Oh, me, I am in desperate need of caffeine.” Tammy exclaims.

 

“I’m just finishing this up and I’ll be right there.” Debbie types without looking away from the screen.

 

By the time Debbie is done the coffee is ready and as she approaches Lou hands her a mug.

 

“Sugar, cream and too much hazelnut syrup.”

 

Debbie looks up at her a bit surprised and looks at her a second too long. And Tammy notices.

 

“Debbie doesn’t drink coffee. That’s liquid dessert.”

 

Lou laughs. “I can’t handle that much sugar in my coffee either. I feel nauseous just thinking about it.”

 

“Have you ever been with her to one of those ice cream places with the marble slab and the three dozen toppings? She’s worse than a child.”

 

“Yes, I have a sweet tooth and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

 

“She runs on sugar, sodium and cheese.”

 

“Cheese I like.” Lou agrees. “Cheese is essential. I could never, and will never, give up cheese.”

 

“Thank you, someone who understands.”

 

“I’m pretty sure Lou doesn’t count nacho cheese sauce as real cheese.”

 

Lou looks absolutely horrified. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

 

“Listen, when you’re at a hockey game they don’t sell charcuterie boards so I had nachos and sickly hotdogs.” Debbie says with a smug expression on her face.

 

Tammy looks at the two and bursts into laughter. “You guys are at opposite ends of the culinary spectrum how on Earth are you two successfully creating menus for the Governor’s daughter’s wedding?”

 

“I like junk food, but I like real food too, you know that. Who helped you plan the menu for your wedding hmm?”

 

“Ok, you got me there. She did a wonderful job helping me with my wedding.”

 

“What was on the menu?” Lou asks opening the plastic container and using a napkin to hand Debbie a chocolate croissant, then one to Tammy.

 

“I don’t remember, but I assure you my husband does.” Tammy takes a bite of the pastry. “Oh my goodness where did you buy these?”

 

“I made them.”

 

“Debbie told me you made the best pasta she’d  _ ever _ eaten.”

 

“Is that so?” Lou says looking over at Debbie having a religious experience as she reverently consumed her pastry.

 

“I haven’t had a chocolate croissant this good since Paris. I’m close to tears right now.” Debbie mumbles.

 

“You’ve rendered her speechless. Thank you.” Tammy jokes and receives a poke from Debbie’s elbow.

 

“We should get those menus done and sent.” 

 

“Right, yes,” Debbie checks her watch. “Think we can get it all done by six?”

 

“We can if we start now.”

 

************************

 

As the rest of the afternoon passed Tammy quietly observed the two women working together with such synchronicity you’d think they’d been working together for three years and not just three days. She was reminded of Debbie’s odd question the night before on the phone and momentarily wondered if she might be talking about Lou.

 

At six they sent Daphne the menus and at seven they received an email back saying she chose option three.

 

“She picked the one you said she’d pick.” Debbie says to Lou.

 

“Should’ve put money on it.”

 

Debbie laughs. “I can’t believe it. We have our menu. Now all we have to do is go find all this stuff.” She says looking over the ingredient list for the chosen menu.

 

“That’s something for another day. Right now I need a drink. You guys wanna go get a drink?”

 

Before anyone can say anything else Tammy pipes in, “oh, you two go ahead. I have to get back home. But I’ll take a raincheck.” She packs her things and grabs her phone. 

 

She turns to Lou and says with a serious look on her face, “watch out for this one. After her third or fourth drink she gets handsy.”

 

Lou laughs and Debbie says to her friend, “Good _ night _ , Tammy.


	9. Chapter 9

Lou hadn’t been in the city as long as Debbie had, but she had already done her homework. She knew where to find all the good places. Looking for a bar, restaurant, club, or the best Pad Thai in the city? She knew where it was.

 

They walked up to a building where the stairs led to a basement door that looked abandoned.

 

“Are we buying bootleg liquor? Is prohibition back?” Debbie laughed at her own joke a little too hard.

 

“No, but I might need an extra drink after that joke though.”

 

They walk into to a deceptively nice bar and Debbie is a little stunned.

 

“What, suddenly no jokes?”

 

“I was expecting cheap beer and a faint smell of urine everywhere judging by what outside looks like.”

 

Lou realizes that while she surprises Debbie with her choices, Debbie surprises her with the expectations she has about Lou’s choices.

 

************************

 

After a few minutes their drinks arrive. A Cape Cod is placed in front of Debbie and a Gin and Tonic for Lou.

 

“Gin and Tonic? You know who drinks those? Sweet little old ladies. And I can say, for sure, that you’re neither of those things.”

 

Lou smiles at Debbie’s teasing. “You know those,” she points at Debbie’s drink, “are for bored housewives who are unhappy in their extravagantly expensive summer homes, right?”

 

“I think Howard’s cheating on me.” Debbie says jokingly. Lou laughs at her and sips her drink.

 

“I’m gonna be honest with you, I hated you that first day I went to your office.”

 

“Yeah, well, the feeling was mutual.”

 

“What did I even do? I arrived and you were already ready to hate me.”

 

“You were late, I can’t stand tardiness. It’s just so…” Debbie stops for a moment and stares into a drink lost in momentary thought.

 

Lou knows that look and remembers the picture on Debbie’s lock screen. She doesn’t say anything, just waits for Debbie to talk when she’s ready.

 

“Danny, my brother, used to say that tardiness is earned. You’re only allowed to be late to meet someone once they know you well enough to respect you.”

 

“That’s an interesting take on that topic.”

 

“Yeah, he said that showing up on time meant you respected the person’s time or something like that.”

 

“My Gran used to say that if someone’s late to meet you, be patient. You never know what kind of storm they’ve sailed through to be able to make it.”

 

As they drink and talk Debbie notices that Lou has folded about four napkins into different things. She’s seen this behavior before, she knows exactly what’s happening to Lou. She pulls out a pen from her purse and pulls a napkin from the holder at the end of the table against the wall. She draws a few lines on it, makes an ‘O’ and then passes both the pen and the napkin over to Lou. Lou looks at it and without stopping their conversation marks an ‘X’ in one of the corners and passes it back. 

 

After about four napkins, each of them having won two games, Debbie decides to make an offer.

 

“Ok, this is the fifth game. How about we make it interesting?”

 

“What’d you have in mind?”

 

“If I win, you have to give me the pack of cigarettes in your bag. You can keep your lighter, it’s probably nice anyway.”

 

Lou looks at her impressed, “and if I win?”

 

“I still get to keep your pack, but I give you one. And we’ll go outside so you can smoke.”

 

“What gave it away?”

 

“That you’re trying to quit and jonesing real bad right now?”

 

Lou nods.

 

“Danny went through the same thing when he was quitting.” Lou passes the napkin back to Debbie.

 

“Well, maybe I’m gonna have to meet him and ask for tips, I’ve tried quitting at least five times unsuccessfully.”

 

Debbie makes a mark on the napkin and passes it back to Lou, “That’s gonna be a bit difficult to arrange.”

 

Without looking up Lou asks, “yeah? Why?”

 

“He’s dead.” Lou didn’t expect that answer much less delivered so bluntly. “I win.” Debbie gets up, picks up her drink, downs the last bit and says to Lou, “come on, let’s go.”

 

Lou follows silently.

 

They get outside and lean against the fence by the stairs that lead down to the bar. As promised Debbie hands Lou one single cigarette.

 

“I thought you said I could have one if only if  _ I _ won?”

 

“I won, so I get to change the rules.”

 

“Have you always been this bossy?” Debbie sees the playful look in Lou’s eyes.

 

“Yes, actually.” Debbie puts the pack of cigarettes away in her own bag. “Danny used to say that the only thing that would be written on my tombstone would be Bossy and Stubborn.” She laughs at the memory.

 

After a few moments of silence Lou pulls out her lighter again and hands it over to Debbie.

 

“My Gran gave me that lighter when I turned 18.”

 

Debbie looks it over and sees the engraving on the side. “Smartass?”

 

Lou laughs through her nose. “She used to call me smartass. Said that I was a good kid, but my mouth would get me into trouble one day.”

 

Debbie hands it back. “Did it?”

 

“That all depends on what you define as trouble.”

 

Debbie smiles at her, “I see what she means.”

 

Lou throws her cigarette on the floor and steps on it. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She says as a hint of a smiles plays at her lips.

 

“Nothing, just that I know your type.”

 

“My  _ type _ ?”

 

“Yeah, you know, cool, good looking, got that badass vibe, may or may not be carrying a switchblade… that whole rebel without a cause attitude.”

 

Lou pulls her keys out and hands them over to Debbie. “No switchblade, but does a Swiss Army Knife count?”

 

Debbie laughs and plays with it, pulling out the different tools.

 

“I got one of these for Danny for his 40th birthday. It was a really nice one, had it engraved with his name and the date, too. The colors were inverted though. Silver with the red logo.” She hands the keys back to Lou.

 

“You two were close.”

 

“Yeah, we were the only family either of us had so…” Debbie looks over at Lou, “what about you? Any siblings?”

 

“Only child. Raised by my Gran, never knew my parents.”

 

“Danny and I were raised by an uncle. Well, technically he wasn’t an uncle but he was like a brother to my dad so we just called him Uncle Reuben. Mom died of cancer, I was too young to remember anything and my dad died of a broken heart a year later.”

 

Lou nods in understanding.

 

“Wait, you said your family was tall and that you were the shortest one, but you never knew your parents?”

 

“I didn’t. They were dead beats. Just left me with my Gran and took off, I only know what they look like through pictures.”

 

Lou grows quiet a moment and for the first time Debbie sees her in a completely different way. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this chapter because when a friend asks you to update, you gotta update. Right, @JLBRD?

Two days after they went to the bar, Debbie was at the grocery store pushing a small cart around. She had already gotten her usual basic items: cookies, crackers, cheese and yogurt. She strolled down each aisle at a leisurely pace looking for something but not knowing exactly what it was. She roamed up and down the aisles with the cans a few times hoping that somehow the items would have magically changed with every new trip. She stopped in front of a section with canned ravioli and thought about putting it in her cat. Before doing so she took a picture of it and texted it along with the caption “you’re not the only one who can cook fancy pasta.”

 

Not five minutes later she receives a reply, “put the can back on the shelf and walk away.”

 

Amused at the reaction she received she texted back, “I need the calories to give me energy. I still have a lot to plan for the wedding.”

 

Moments later Debbie’s phone rings. “I can’t possibly be expected to plan this wedding on caffeine and sugar alone. I wouldn’t be opposed to trying though.”

 

“Why do you do this? You threaten to eat canned ravioli and then to subsist on sugar. Are you trying to give me a stress headache? Because I think you’re succeeding.” Debbie laughs on the other line and Lou’s heart beats just a little faster.

 

“I’m working with the resources that I have, not all of us went to culinary school and worked under famous chefs in award-winning restaurants, you know.”

 

With a laugh and a sigh Lou asked, “what’s something you’re good a making?”

 

“A mess.”

 

Lou laughed a full-bodied laugh that Debbie had never heard before but now would say all the words in existence just to hear it again. “Ok, different approach, is there anything you  _ like _ to make?”

 

“If you’re looking for an answer other than ‘a sandwich’ then you’re shit outta luck, sorry.”

 

Lou thought for a moment, “where are you?”

 

“Grocery store, 178th and Bleecker, next to the nail salon.”

 

“Give me about 20 minutes, stay put.”

 

Almost 40 minutes later Lou arrives.

 

“Are you allergic to punctuality or do you do this on purpose?”

 

“I’m here aren’t I?”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Ok, what happens now?” Lou begins walking and Debbie follows wordlessly. 

 

In less than half an hour, record time for Debbie, they’d finished. Well, Lou had finished, Debbie just pushed the cart and followed.

 

As they’re waiting their turn in line Debbie takes a good look at all the items in the cart. “I don’t know what half of this stuff is and the other half I don’t know what to do with.”

 

“Don’t you worry about that.”

 

“Oh? So, I’m just gonna take all this stuff home and let it sit on the counter?”

 

“Do you always ask so many questions or is this level of inquisitiveness saved only for me?” Lou raises her eyebrows, crosses her arms and gives Debbie a very playful look.

 

With every ounce of strength in her body Debbie tries not to smile and fails, “don’t flatter yourself.”

 

After arriving at Debbie’s apartment they place the groceries on the counter. Lou removes her jacket and Debbie looks for an apron.

 

“Are you serious? An apron?”

 

“Food has a magnetic pull towards my clothing so, yes, it’s necessary.”

 

Lou smiles and pushes herself off the counter she had been leaning back on. “Ok, first things first, where are your knives?”

 

************************

 

No more than two hours later Lou had pre-prepared about a week’s worth of meals for Debbie. After, of course, spending fifteen minutes complaining about the state of Debbie’s knives. She closed the lid on the last plastic container and handed it to Debbie. 

 

“And how am I supposed to know what do with all of those?” Debbie asks pointing at her refrigerator.

 

“You could read the instructions I carefully wrote down for you.”

 

Nodding Debbie agrees to stick to the instructions.

 

************************

 

Three days later Debbie comes home from work and drops her bag and coat on a chair by the door. She goes directly to her kitchen and pulls out one of the containers Lou prepped. She found the sheets of paper with the instructions and began to read them and stopped after a moment. She looked toward her bag on the chair by the door and went over to get her phone. She brought up her contacts and within seconds the phone was ringing.

 

“Miss me already?” Lou asked on the other line.

 

“You’re awfully full of yourself, did you know that?” The smile Debbie wore could be heard in her voice. “I’m calling because I… I misplaced those instructions you wrote down for me.”

 

“I knew you would, I should’ve made a copy.”

 

“Yeah, well, coulda, shoulda, woulda. Now, what do I do with this dish? It’s the one with the cucumbers, tomatoes and onions.”

 

“Ok, well that’s the Greek chicken salad so you’ll add that white crumbly cheese and the dressing I made.”

 

“Ok, hang on I’m putting you on speaker. I need supervision.”

 

“It’s not supervision without the vision part…”

 

“I will not argue with you this time, but only because this salad is amazing.”

 

“Well, of course it is, I made it.”

 

“Do they teach you how to be smug in culinary school too? Because if they did I’m sure you passed that class with flying colors.”

 

Lou laughed as she sat back into her couch thinking about how the almost two hours she’d spent apart from Debbie since leaving her office were absolutely dreadful. And why this was making her so anxious.


	11. Chapter 11

One week later and Debbie and Lou were out and about going to different places to order the ingredients for the wedding menu. Debbie learned that Lou could tell if anything was fresh or only made to look fresh within seconds. She could pick up a bundle of radishes, examine it for a moment, smell it and then would nod in approval if it were fresh. If it wasn’t she’d simply hand it back to the owner of the farmer’s market stand and say firmly, “this isn’t fresh” and they’d immediately apologize. 

 

“You just put the fear of God into that poor man.” Debbie laughed hard.

 

“He tried to sell me bad radishes. I don’t like being lied to.” She just shrugs as if it were the most natural reaction to bad produce.

 

Lou learned that Debbie was an expert negotiator. After she saw Lou make her first purchase she was in complete and total disbelief. 

 

“I could’ve gotten you a better deal on that.”

 

“These aren’t even for the wedding, they’re for me. We’re just placing orders for those ingredients now, not buying them.”

 

“So? I still could’ve gotten you a better deal.”

 

“It’s fine.”

 

“Ok, next stand we go to, let me do the talking. You pick out the stuff and I’ll negotiate.”

 

Lou watched in awe almost as Debbie worked her magic with the guy at the cheese stand.

 

“I know your products are good, that’s why I came to your stand. I’m just saying that if you want to keep your loyal customers happy, you’ve gotta first have loyal customers.”

 

The guy at the stand, tired and having no argument against what Debbie just said, gives her a discount.

 

Debbie sees Lou eyeing a wedge of cheese.

 

“And this.” She grabs the cheese from Lou’s hand and places it in the bag. 

 

The owner is about to say something but just dismissively waves his hand at her, “alright, alright.”

 

Debbie smiles at him as she takes the bag and hands him a business card. 

 

“Thank you.”

 

They walk along and Debbie hands her the bag. “Here’s your cheese.”

 

“You’re unbelievable. There’s over $100 worth of cheese in here. I paid only half that.”

 

“I’ll accept more of that pasta you made as a thank you.”

 

“Alright, deal.” Lou looks at her watch. “You remember where I live, right?” Debbie nods.

 

“What time should I come over?”

 

“Is eight ok?”

 

“Yeah, eight is good.”

 

“I’ve got a meeting, but I’ll see you later.”

 

A little sad that she won’t get to spend the day with Lou, she just waves as the blonde walks away.

 

************************

 

In less than an hour Debbie walks back into the office.

 

“Hey, you’re back already?” Tammy says as she gets herself some water. “Where’s Lou?”

 

“She had a meeting or something.” Debbie sounds annoyed.

 

“Oh, well, that sucks. I was hoping to get her opinion on something.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Daphne is still deciding on cutlery so I wanted to know, with regards to practicality, which set she recommends for the food she’ll be making.”

 

“Do you have pictures of the sets?”

 

“Yeah, I printed them-”

 

“I’ll show them to her.”

 

“If she’s gonna be here tomorrow I can just show them to her.”

 

“I’m seeing her later, I’ll show her.”

 

“Oh, she’s coming back here, great. What time?”

 

“No, I’m going to her place tonight.”

 

“I see.” Tammy says. She quietly walks over to the supply cupboard and pulls out an envelope, places the pictures in it and then hands it over to Debbie. “Tell her to write whatever notes she has on the back of each one.”

 

Debbie takes the envelope and places it on her bag. 

 

“So you’re seeing her at her place. Is this work related business?”

 

Debbie looks at Tammy knowing all too well where this line of questioning is going. 

 

“The other day when you asked me about knowing if you like someone, that was about her wasn’t it?”

 

“Tammy, I’ve already told you-”

 

“Debbie, let’s just skip the part where you try to lie and I find out that you’re trying to lie and everything else that’s involved in that old song and dance, shall we?”

 

Debbie taps her pen on her desk. “Alright, fine,” she runs both hands over her hair, “I  _ may _ have a small crush on Lou.”

 

“Small?”

 

“Tiny, miniscule. A seedling of a crush. Barely there, so small, in fact, that I have no idea why I even brought it up.” Debbie began to regret telling her friend as she saw Tammy’s eyes grow wide and almost twinkle with mischief.

 

Tammy didn’t say a word. She tried and failed to suppress a smile. She would look over at Debbie and just watch her, as she worked, every few minutes. Just waiting to see how long it took to wear her down.

 

“Jesus, Tammy alright. Fine. I have…. a crush on Lou.” Debbie finally looks up at her friend and sees her looking back with caring eyes.

 

“It feels nice doesn’t it?”

 

Debbie nods, “nicer than I remembered.” 

 

“So, is tonight like a date for you two?”

 

Debbie frowns suddenly not knowing the answer to that question. “I don’t think it is. Why do you ask?”

 

“Isn’t it obvious?”

 

“Tammy, if it were obvious I’d know.”

 

“No, it’s obvious, you’re just in denial.” Tammy says as she grabs a new package of Post-It notes from her drawer. “Lou likes you back, dummy.”

 

Debbie doesn’t believe her. “What makes you say that?”

 

Tammy laughs loudly and openly, “Debbie, she made you your favorite pastry, made not bought. And she brought you your syrup for your coffee.”

 

Debbie thinks about that for a minute. She thinks about the time she’s already spent with Lou and how Lou takes great care in the little things. Debbie then looks at Tammy with sudden realization.

 

“You should do something nice for her.”

 

“I know but I don’t really know what.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.”


	12. Chapter 12

Five minutes before eight o’clock Debbie stood outside of Lou’s apartment adjusting her blouse. After a deep breath Debbie knocks on the door and soon hears Lou’s voice coming towards the door. When the door opens she sees Lou is on the phone.

 

“Well I can’t tonight.”

 

Lou motions for her to come in and make herself comfortable and so she does. She surreptitiously watches Lou pick up all the papers and folders that were strewn about the dinner table.

 

“Because I have company.” Lou looks up briefly at Debbie. “A work associate.”

 

Debbie is slightly relieved at Lou having used a rather formal title for them as she wasn’t fully ready to outright label what she felt for Lou as anything more than a little crush. They’ve known each other for only three weeks and she was never one to leap before she looked.

 

Lou walked away to what Debbie can only assume is her bedroom to finish up her conversation. Debbie pulls the envelope out with the pictures Tammy sent.

 

“I’m sorry about that, I lost track of time.”

 

“It’s fine, here,” she hands over the envelope, “these are from Tammy. There’s a note in there explaining what she needs.”

 

Lou places the envelope in a safe place. “I’ll look at that later.” She heads back to her kitchen, as Debbie follows, and grabs a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine that was sitting on the counter.

 

Lou looks back and Debbie is leaning on the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen. “I hope you like Merlot.”

 

“I like wine, can’t tell the difference to be perfectly honest. I can only differentiate between reds and whites.”

 

“I’m surprised you like wine at all if I’m to be honest.”

 

“Because of my child-like palate?”

 

Lou smiles, “you said it, not me.”

 

They made their way out of the kitchen and into the living room as Debbie explained, “I didn’t always like wine, an ex of mine was a sommelier and I just got used to drinking it until I ended up liking it.”

 

“Do you remember anything you were taught?”

 

“No, but I should. We dated for long enough where I should have retained some information, but…”

 

Lou’s holding her wine glass in her left hand as she shifts on the couch facing Debbie. “I dated a mechanic once, a car could drive by and she’d know if the brakes needed changing or whatever else was wrong with it.”

 

“But that’s useful, I’d love for someone to be able to tell me I needed to get my brakes changed. I don’t have a car, but if I did that would be nice. I’d like to have a specific talent like that. Just be really good at something, so good no one will contest anything I say.” Debbie says as she stares into her wine glass.

 

“But you do.” Lou takes a sip of her wine.

 

Debbie shifts her position on the couch so she’s almost full on facing Lou. “I do?”

 

“You’re very good with people. There’s a natural charisma and charm about you. Granted I didn’t see it immediately.” 

 

Debbie laughs lightly, “people are so exhausting!”

 

“They are, but you’re still very good with them. You talked to those vendors today as if you were doing them a favor by allowing them to give you a discount.”

 

Debbie looks up from her wine glass to see Lou watching her. “It’s all in the attitude.” Debbie smiles and playfully adjusts her posture.

 

Lou looks at her with gentle eyes and a lingering smile. A look that was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. “Come on, let’s go make dinner.”

 

“Let’s? As in me also being involved in the process? That’s a terrible idea.”

 

“Relax, I’ll supervise you.”

 

“No amount of supervision will cancel out the fact that I should always stay out of a kitchen if at all possible.” Debbie sounded very nervous all the sudden.

 

Debbie is walking behind Lou towards the kitchen when Lou turns around and places both her hands on the sides of Debbie’s shoulders, “Debbie, hey, relax. Really, relax. I’m here, dinner will turn out just fine, I promise.”

 

She’s not sure what exactly it was about it, but Debbie suddenly felt calm. She felt a specific type of peace in her mind, body and soul that she hadn’t felt in months. She felt a sort of comfort that she only really felt with Tammy and Danny. She felt….  _ safe _ with Lou.

 

She looks deeply into Lou’s eyes as Lou looks back into hers. “Ok, alright, let’s go cook I guess.”

 

Lou rubbed both her thumbs lightly on Debbie’s shoulder, then she let go and they made their way into the kitchen.

 

************************

 

Debbie walks into work the next morning a little over 10 minutes late. She quietly walks in and places her coat and bag on her chair. She calmly walks over to the coffee maker and pops in a coffee pod. She listens to it whir to life for a few moments and then grabs her mug.

 

“Debbie? Hello?”

 

She turns to her left and sees Tammy standing there with a confused look on her face. “Hi, Tammy, good morning.” She gives Tammy an easy and relaxed smile.

 

“I know, I’ve said that to you at least three times. What’s the matter are you ok? Also you’re late and you didn’t call. I thought you’d died.”

 

“No, I’m not dead.”

 

“I know that, but thank you for confirming it for me.” Tammy replies flatly.

 

Debbie smiles at her friend, “you want some coffee?”

 

“No thanks….” Tammy looks at her closely, “are you ok?”

 

“I’m fine, but I think you aren’t. I’m gonna make you some tea.”

 

Tammy decided to just go back to her desk and back to work. “Oh do you have the notes on the flatware for the wedding?”

 

“Lou says she’ll be in this afternoon to get those to you.”

 

“I thought you were bringing them in this morning.”

 

“Oh we didn’t even look at those last night. We were cooking.” Debbie says as she reaches her desk with her coffee.

 

“ _ You _ were cooking?”

 

“I was supervised, don’t worry I didn’t start any fires… again.”

 

“You hate cooking.” Tammy says rather skeptically.

 

“Maybe I just never had the right teacher.” Debbie says with a small smile as she turns her computer on.

 

“Right. Oh, by the way, you remember I’ll be out of town next week right?”

 

“Yes, I do. Tom’s parent’s wedding anniversary, right?”

 

“Yes, one whole week in the Florida Keys. I’ve never been this excited about going to Florida.”

 

“Well you’ve earned it. Will this be Eliza’s first trip to the beach?”

 

“It will! I’m so excited to take a thousand pictures of her in her little flamingo raft.”

 

“I knew you’d love that.” Debbie smiles at the very thought of her goddaughter in the raft she got her.

 

“You spoil her, you know that?”

 

“That’s my job, spoiling her. You and Tom get the disciplining and I get the spoiling.” Debbie smiles easily.

 

Tammy doesn’t want to say anything but this is the most she’s seen Debbie smile since Thanksgiving. She loves her best friend very much and doesn’t fully know what’s gotten her to start acting like herself again, but she hopes that whatever or whoever it is sticks around for a while.


	13. Chapter 13

**MONDAY**

 

Around ten in the morning Debbie picks up her phone and stares at it for a few minutes before making a call.

 

“Morning” Lou answers and Debbie is a bit surprised to not have received Lou’s usual calm tone.

 

“Oh, wow, I wasn’t expecting such a warm greeting.” Debbie replies playfully.

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Debbie can sense Lou isn’t having the best of mornings.

 

“Listen, I was calling because I wanted to know if you were free to grab some lunch today. This new Thai place opened up a couple of blocks away from the office and I’m dying to try it out but I don’t want to eat alone.”

 

“Alone? Where’s Tammy?”

 

“Tammy’s gone for the week. And besides Tammy has been on the most obnoxious clean eating diet since she found out she was pregnant so she wouldn’t go with me even if she were here.”

 

Debbie can hear Lou laugh through the phone and holds it a bit tighter against her ear. “Alright what time do you wanna meet up?”

 

“Can you meet me outside the restaurant at noon? I’ll text you the address.”

 

************************

 

At around 12:20 pm Lou spots Debbie outside the restaurant and strolls up to her.

 

“Hey, sorry I’m late.”

 

“No worries, I’d figured you’d be late so I made a reservation for 12:30, so really we’re ten minutes early.” Debbie explains as she holds the door open for Lou and looks straight ahead.

 

Lou looks at her almost incredulously, “so now you’re not just extinguishing fires but also preventing them?” She walks inside.

 

“Something like that.”

 

************************

 

As they ate they fell into easy conversation and Debbie couldn’t help but notice just how comfortable she felt around Lou.

 

“So, what do you think so far? What’s your rating for this place?”

 

Lou finished chewing her food, placed her fork down and sat back a little. She took a sip of her drink before answering.

 

“I can’t possibly give this place a solid rating after just one visit. I usually visit a place about three to five times before deciding on a personal rating.”

 

“Why’s that?” Debbie chewed on the piece of ice she fished out of her glass with her straw.

 

“It’s more consistent that way. If everything is great on the first visit it could be a fluke or I could happen to visit on a bad day where nothing is going well. If I have more than one visit to go on then I can make a more balanced judgement.”

 

“That’s very…. fair.”

 

“What were you expecting I’d say?”

 

“I don’t really know, but I wasn’t expecting that answer. It’s such a well thought out system. I’m impressed.”

 

“I’m sorry, could you say that again, I couldn’t quite hear you.”

 

Debbie smiled knowing very well Lou was messing with her. “What? That I was impressed?”

 

“Yeah, that bit.”

 

“No one will believe I said it. There are no witnesses.”

 

Lou looked at her and smiled. “Spoken like a true lawyer.”

 

“Yeah, well, I grew up with one.” Debbie looked down and picked up her fork. She speared one of the shrimp still on her plate and put it in her mouth. They both ate in silence for a moment, not an uncomfortable silence, more of a moment of pause for Debbie to collect her thoughts.

 

“Any in your family?” Debbie says after a moment.

 

Lou nods as she finishes chewing. “My gran went to law school when she was about 40, after she divorced. She was like an encyclopedia of knowledge.”

 

“Danny was a defense attorney to, seemingly only, very shady clients.” Debbie laughs a bit, “you should’ve seen the kind of characters that would walk into his office.”

 

“My gran worked pro bono mostly. She handled a few shady ones herself, but mostly it was people shit out of luck and money.”

 

Debbie smiled and Lou caught her. 

 

“What are you smiling about?”

 

“It’s just… your whole face softens when you talk about her and…”

 

“And?”

 

“And….” Debbie was hesitant to say the rest, “and it’s nothing.”

 

“Bullshit. Tell me the rest.”

 

Debbie ate quietly for a minute not looking up to meet Lou’s eyes.

 

“We can sit here all day, you know. I have no other plans so you may as well just tell me now.”

 

Debbie very reluctantly gave in, something she rarely did.

 

“I was going to say that your face softens when you talk about her and you do this…” Debbie rolls her eyes as Lou raises her eyebrows expectantly, “you get this little smile and it’s... just nice.”

 

“Was that so hard to say?”

 

“Yes, it was, in fact.”

 

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

 

Debbie pretends to be offended.

 

“I invite you to lunch to this, this very fine establishment and you call me dramatic?”

 

“Can’t imagine why.” Lou smiles at her as she sips more of her drink.

 

************************

 

As they leave the restaurant Debbie unwraps a red and white striped peppermint and pops it into her mouth. She stuffs the wrapper into her coat pocket and they walk in unison back towards the office.

 

“Did you mean it when you said you don’t have any plans today? I have a few things I could really use an opinion on, do you mind coming up to the office for a bit? Maybe I could bounce some ideas off of you.” Debbie left it hanging in the air.

 

Lou wore that poker face that left Debbie so frazzled. After almost two minutes of silence Lou pipes up, “yeah I guess I could come up for a bit.”

 

************************

 

At around nine o’clock in the evening both Debbie and Lou sat on the couch in the office. The table in front of them littered with papers, each with very specific notes. Debbie gets up and walks over to Tammy’s desk looking for more Post-It notes having used all of hers. She’s going through the second drawer when she hears it. She looks up to see Lou casually folding a piece of paper as she hummed a tune vaguely familiar to Debbie. 

 

Debbie stopped for a minute and try as she might couldn’t keep herself from smiling. As usual she was caught by Lou who in turn now wore a smile too. Debbie continued to rummage through Tammy’s drawer until she found what she was looking for. Just as she was closing the drawer she hears a whistle and looks up just in time to see Lou launch a paper airplane in her direction, barely dodging it. 

 

“You can take an eye out with that thing, stop it.” Debbie demands rather firmly.

 

“Yes,  _ ma’am _ .”

 

Debbie stops dead in her tracks and looks at Lou for a moment, not a word exchanged between the two of them. She tosses the Post-Its on the table and walks over to the mini fridge, grabs two waters, then makes her way back to the couch. She suddenly feels a little flustered. She can’t place why, but she does. As if every single thing she did or said was now under intense scrutiny. The two continued to go over the notes for the wedding day itinerary.

 

“But that doesn’t make any sense.” Debbie ran her fingers through her hair tossing it to one side. “If we do that before they cut the cake it won’t be a statement, we need to have it happen later in the reception.” She looks up and sees Lou staring at her, not blinking. “What?”

 

“You’re right.” Lou picks up her water and drains half the bottle in one go.

 

Debbie looks back to her notes and smiles the smallest smile at seeing Lou’s reaction.


	14. Chapter 14

**WEDNESDAY**

 

They had made it an unspoken agreement that week to have lunch together every day. After lunch Lou would go with Debbie back to the office, some days helping Debbie out with some important decisions and some days just lounging around on the couch sneaking not so secret glances at Debbie.

 

On this particular afternoon it was rainy and grey and after the fourth yawn in the past five minutes Lou decided they needed coffee. She gets up and walks towards the door.

 

“You’re leaving?”

 

“Be back shortly.”

 

And just as promised Lou was back in about less than an hour carrying a plastic bag with the name of a kitchenwares store that was a few blocks away.

 

Debbie’s interest was piqued but she wasn’t about to give in, not just yet. She watched quietly and intently from her desk as Lou approached the corner with a counter and a sink they referred to as ‘the kitchen’ with zero irony.

 

She removes a brick of vacuum sealed coffee and a French press from the bag. She walks over, grabs the kettle, fills it with water and turns it on. Once the water is almost boiled she pours it into the press then pours it out and down the drain, then fills the kettle again and turns it on. She goes back to the items she’d just purchased, she opens the coffee and begins spooning it into the press. She grabs Debbie’s mug and Tammy’s too, pouring the syrup she’d brought for Debbie not that long ago into her mug while making a face. Debbie couldn’t help but smile.

 

After a few more minutes she walks to Debbie’s desk and quietly places her mug on the corner and goes back to her spot on the couch. Just as quietly Debbie grabs her mug and joins Lou on the couch handing her three different photos of flower arrangements for the tables at the reception. She looks at all three and wordlessly hands Debbie the second photo, placing the other two on the table. Debbie then hands her three more photos for arrangements that were to be placed at the ends of the bride and groom’s table. Lou looks them over and hands Debbie the first photo.

 

Debbie finally sips her coffee, closing her eyes for a moment so brief that had Lou not been watching her she would’ve missed it. 

 

“Did I get it right?”

 

Debbie tried to hide her smile with her mug. Lou knew she’d gotten Debbie’s coffee perfectly, she just wanted to hear her say it, but Debbie would be damned if she admitted it that easily.

 

************************

 

**FRIDAY**

 

Late Friday morning Debbie gets a call from Lou about an hour before they’re supposed to meet. Debbie answers it almost a little too quickly.

 

“I was thinking today for lunch I’ll let you pick.”

 

“Yeah, about that, I might have to cancel.”

 

“Oh? Is everything alright?”

 

“Yeah, everything’s fine, I locked my keys in my apartment before I left about an hour ago and only just noticed.”

 

“Have you called a locksmith yet?”

 

“Yeah, a couple but none of them are available until early evening.”

 

“No problem, I’ll be right there.”

 

And before Lou could say another word Debbie had already hung up.

 

About 30 mins later Lou hears footsteps on the stairs and soon sees a very familiar face. Debbie takes in the sight before her: Lou wearing her post gym look. As she pulls her sunglasses off she raises her eyebrows at Lou indicating her amusement at Lou’s outfit.

 

“You didn’t think I went to the gym in suits, did you?”

 

“I didn’t think you went to the gym period.”

 

Debbie rummages through her bag and pulls out a smaller black leather pouch and unzips it.

 

“Did you come all the way over here to give me a hard time?”

 

Debbie kneels in front of Lou’s door and places a small metal object in her lock.

 

“I came all the way over here to save your ass.”

 

Lou watches Debbie jiggle the metal piece exactly two times and hears a distinct click and sees her door creak open. Lou looks at Debbie incredulously.

 

“I didn’t know you could pick locks.”

 

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Debbie wears a small smile on her lips briefly looking up to meet Lou’s wide eyes. Lou looks her over once more and speaks up.

 

“Come on in, I’ll make us some lunch.”

 

It’s later in the evening, Debbie having skipped work and spent the day at Lou’s, when Debbie sees Lou’s phone light with a text for the third time in fifteen minutes. She sees Lou casually reply again and set her phone down on her leg this time. Not five minutes later Lou’s phone rings and she answers it. 

 

The person on the other end immediately starts speaking and Lou slowly looks away from Debbie.

 

“Now is not a good time, I’ll call you tomorrow, yeah?”

 

Debbie picks up her phone, suddenly needing to do something. “You sure are popular today.” Debbie says as Lou hangs up.

 

Lou smiles as she tosses her phone aside. “My services are in high demand.”

 

Debbie nods, “understandable… you do make pretty decent food.”

 

“Pretty decent? I recall someone telling Tammy that I made the best pasta she’d ever eaten.”

 

“I was being polite.”

 

Lou laughs, “I’ve yet to meet someone as hard headed as you.”

 

In the moment Debbie says off handedly, “don’t act like you’re not into it.”

 

And Lou stares at her without a single word, just a small smile.

 

************************

 

On the first Tuesday Tammy was back her and Debbie sat in the conference room having lunch and catching up on their time spent apart.

 

“Did she eat any sand or is she still too young for that?”

 

Tammy smiles at her friend’s question, “no, she didn’t, but Tom did.”

 

“It’s not a party until Tom eats something he isn’t supposed to.”

 

Tammy laughs, “sand eating husband aside, it was a very nice trip. Thank you for holding things down while I was away.”

 

“Don’t mention it.” Debbie winks at her.

 

“What did you get up to while I was away? I feel like the stack of things I still had to do that was on my desk has gotten significantly smaller.”

 

“Oh, yeah, that… I had a lot of spare time what with you not around to bother me,” she says playfully to Tammy, “so we got a lot done.”

 

“We?”

 

“Lou stopped by,” Debbie took a sip of her iced tea.

 

“Did Lou stop by a lot?”

 

“I wouldn’t say a lot, no.”

 

“How often did Lou stop by?”

 

“Tammy, I didn’t keep a record of her visits or anything.”

 

Tammy stared at her in that very specific way that made Debbie feel like her mind was being read. 

 

“Why do you do that, Tammy, you know how much it creeps me out.”

 

“Do what?” Tammy says almost innocently.

 

“She came over a few times.”

 

“A few times…” Tammy nods.

 

“Ok, more than a few times. One would maybe even use the word ‘often’.”

 

“Often?”

 

“Yes, often which is relative to each person’s understanding of the word.”

 

“So, if I were to call Lou right now and ask her this same question I’d get the same answer from her?”

 

Debbie pensively chews on a piece of ice. She looks up at Tammy briefly then back down at her iced tea.

 

“Every day.”

 

Tammy smiles, “and you guys only saw each other at work?”

 

“Tammy…”

 

“It’s an innocent question, Deb. I’m just worried about your well-being! I haven’t seen you in a week and-”

 

“I went to her house on Friday.”

 

“And what happened?”

 

Worry briefly flashed across Debbie’s face. “We hung out.”

 

“That’s it? No kissing?”

 

Debbie thought for a minute. “I think she may be seeing someone.”

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah she kept getting texts while I was there and she even got a phone call.”

 

“What was her tone like?”

 

“Her tone?” Debbie used her straw to stir her ice tea. “I can’t tell, she just said she’d call whoever it was the next day.”

 

“Well, that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s seeing someone. Maybe she didn’t want her time with you interrupted?”

 

“I don’t know, Tammy.”

 

Tammy tapped her thumb on the conference table a couple of times before talking, “you must really like her.”

 

“What makes you say that?”

 

With a very pointed look Tammy answers, “I’ve never seen you openly express doubt about anyone like that before.”

 

If she hadn’t realized or admitted it before, now Debbie can safely say she has feelings for Lou.


	15. Chapter 15

Four weeks. That was how close they were to the wedding. In four weeks the most high profile event they’ve ever planned would be happening. The most exclusive guest list in the city sat atop Tammy’s desk.

 

“Ok, so I’ll swing by and pick up the place cards and drop them off at Daphne’s on my way back from Eliza’s check up. But, no, she’ll be at the bridesmaid’s final fitting this afternoon… that’s way across town. Oh no…”

 

“Tammy, relax, I’ll go pick up the place cards, you just worry about getting Eliza to her doctor’s appointment, ok?”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yes, I am sure.”

 

And just minutes after Tammy flies out the door someone else walks in. Debbie, with her head down, thought it was her friend who’d just come back in the office.

 

“Tammy, have we decided what we’re wearing to this event? I’m not really keen on the idea of looking like staff, I feel like wearing something nice, especially since, well, you know who will be there.”

 

“No, I don’t know who, but now I’m curious.”

 

Debbie’s head shot up, “Lou… I thought you were Tammy.”

 

“No, but I did pass by her on my way in.”

 

“Oh, yeah, she was leaving.”

 

Lou laughs a bit, “I know, remember how I just mentioned I saw her leaving.”

 

Debbie checks her watch and answers, “as am I.”

 

Lou waits in the hallway as Debbie locks up and follows her outside the building. Debbie sees Lou waiting beside her as she hails a cab. Debbie gets in and so does Lou behind her. Once Lou closes the door she looks over at Debbie, who was wearing an amused expression on her face, and asks, “where are we going?”

 

************************

 

After dropping off the place cards the two women found themselves in a cab on their way back to the office.

 

“So that was the bride.” Lou states.

 

“Yeah, she’s not what she seems though.”

 

“Oh, I know.”

 

Debbie looks over at Lou for a moment. “How do you know?”

 

“You’re not the only person who knows people.”

 

Debbie looks at her for a second longer then looks out the window so Lou wouldn’t see her smile.

 

They’re in the cab for another ten minutes when they start to slow down until they’re at a complete stop. They stay that way for a few minutes longer before Debbie asks the driver what’s wrong.

 

“Traffic jam.”

 

“Traffic jam?” Debbie whines.

 

“You know when there’s a lot of cars on the road and some idiot does something stupid and everything has to stop to fix their mistake?”

 

“Thank you for the explanation, it was very educational.”

 

Lou is silently laughing in her corner.

 

“You think this is funny?” Debbie takes her phone out and texts Tammy explaining her situation. Upon learning Lou was with her Tammy tells Debbie not to worry about coming back to the office and that maybe she and Lou should just grab a drink instead of waiting in a cab. Debbie laughs lightly at her friend’s attempt at playing cupid. She flips her phone around in her hand a couple of times and then starts rummaging through her bag. She pulls some money out of her wallet and pays the driver.

 

“Keep the change,” she looks over at Lou and nods her head signalling that they’re getting out of the cab.

 

They walk a block and find a bar. They find a spot at the far end of the bar and make themselves comfortable after ordering their drinks.

 

Debbie sees Lou waiting for an explanation. “Better than waiting in a cab.”

 

After a few moments of drinking in comfortable silence Lou asks Debbie a question, “so who is it you’re trying to impress at this wedding?”

 

“What?”

 

“When I was walking into the office and you thought I was Tammy you were saying something about not wanting to look like staff because ‘you know who’ was going to be there.”

 

Debbie had hoped Lou had forgotten about that especially because Lou was the ‘you know who’ she was talking about.

 

“Oh, just some people, potential business opportunities.”

 

“So, does that mean you’re not seeing anyone?”

 

“Not sure how you got that from what I said… but no, I’m not seeing anyone.”

 

Lou nods and takes a sip from her drink.

 

“Are you?” Debbie asks while looking into her drink, too nervous to face Lou.   
  


“No, not yet anyway.”

 

“Oh?”

 

After taking a sip and taking her sweet time to answer Lou says, “there’s someone I’m interested in and I think it may be mutual, but she plays coy. It’s cute really, but I don’t know why she does it.” Lou let’s that hang in the air.

 

Debbie swirls her drink a couple of times. She looks straight ahead, takes a small sip and then sets it down, still not looking at Lou. “Maybe she’s not sure if you’re interested in her.”

 

“Oh, I don’t know… I’ve been pretty clear.”

 

Debbie wears a knowing expression and slightly nods her head, “well, whatever the reason, I think, personally, if you really like her you’ll wait… let her come to you.”

 

Lou glances at Debbie and raises her hand calling the bartender over.

 

************************

 

Much later in the night, when Debbie gets home, she calls Tammy. “I’m surprised you haven’t called yet.”

 

“I didn’t want to, you know, interrupt anything.”

 

“I wish I had as much sex as you think I have.”

 

Tammy laughs at her friend’s joke. “Before I bombard you with questions, I have to ask, did Daphne say anything about the place cards?”

 

“She loved them and made everyone in that shop look at them whether they wanted to or not. Even the other shoppers.”

 

“Good! Now, tell me what happened.”

 

“Tammy, nothing  _ happened _ . We got a drink and talked some.”

 

“Debbie, is there something wrong with Lou that I don’t know about? Is she rude to waiters? A secret Republican? Chews with her mouth open?”

 

“What? No, none of those.”

 

“Then what is taking you so long to make a move?! As your best friend and someone who loves you like family I am allowed to give you a loving yet stern kick in the pants.”

 

“Tammy…”

 

“No, don’t even. You like her, she so obviously likes you, you both spend a lot of time together and get along very well. I’m not understanding the roadblock here.”

 

“I’m not sure if-”

 

“I call bullshit on that, Deb. Whatever it is you were about to say, it's a shitty excuse. Do you think she’d spend as much time at the office or as many nights with you if she had a girlfriend?”

 

Debbie doesn’t say anything.

 

“Do you think she’d get up at the crack of dawn to make you your favorite pastry if she didn’t like you? Or bring you that god-awful sugary syrup for your coffee?”

 

Debbie was quiet on the other end.

 

“Debbie, you’re a big girl and you can take care of yourself. I just hate to see you keep yourself from your own happiness. Whatever it is you choose to do, I’ll always be here for you, but if the way Lou looks at you when you’re not looking is any indication… she’s got it  _ bad _ . Just like you.”

 

Debbie sighs deeply. “I hate that you’re right so often.”

 

“I’m  _ always  _ right.”

 

“Goodnight, Tammy.” Debbie stared at her phone thinking about what her friend had said. Debbie made a decision and hoped to God it was the right one.


	16. Chapter 16

The next few weeks went by like a blur. The wedding was quickly approaching and while Tammy was putting the finishing touches on things, Debbie was putting out fires left and right. Debbie had gotten a call that afternoon about how one of the bridesmaids decided she didn’t like her dress. The wedding was in two days and Debbie could not afford to have fires of epic proportions starting so close to the day of the event. She spent nearly four hours talking sense into the bridesmaid in question and was absolutely exhausted. She called Tammy to let her know everything was alright and decided to go home early and get some much needed rest. As she walked down the sidewalk she realized she was a few blocks away from Lou’s apartment. In a rare moment of spontaneity Debbie decided to pay her a visit and see if she could finally just suck it up and tell Lou how she felt. 

 

Debbie walks up to Lou’s floor and down the hall. She stands in front of the door and takes exactly two deep breaths. She raised her hand to the door and took another deep breath before knocking. A moment later Lou opens the door.

 

“Debbie...”

 

In a burst of shaky confidence Debbie walks in without waiting for Lou to invite her in. “I’ve had a long day and am very hungry and very nearly succumbed to a street hotdog on the way home so I decided I’d let you talk me out of it and maybe we could go get something to eat.”

 

“Oh, um, Debbie-”

 

Lou was cut off by the woman coming down the hallway into her living room wrapped in a towel clearly having just gotten out of the shower.

 

“You got somethin’ I could borrow? Somethin’ comfortable...” She trailed off once she saw Debbie standing next to Lou. 

 

Debbie turned around and took in the sight before her. She turned back around to see Lou wearing pyjama pants and a t-shirt. Instantly Debbie felt equal parts embarrassed and stupid. 

 

“I’ll just go find somethin’.” And the woman was gone just as quickly as she appeared.

 

Debbie heads toward the door, “I’m sorry I should’ve called.”

 

“Debbie, no it’s not what you think.”

 

“Lou, we’re all adults here and it’s really none of my business who you do what with.”

 

“Can you just sit down for a minute? I promise you it’s not what you think.” Lou almost pleaded.

 

“You don’t owe me any explanations. It’s fine, I’m tired anyway. I’ll see you at the wedding.”

 

And before Lou could say another word Debbie was out the door, down the hall and two floors down before she slowed down enough to realize she was crying.

 

************************

 

At around four in the afternoon the next day there’s a knock on Debbie’s door. She burrowed herself a little deeper into her couch and sat absolutely still hoping whoever it was would go away.

 

“Debbie, I know you’re in there. I know your ritual before an event. You can cut the shit and let me in now.”

 

“I gave you a key so I wouldn’t have to get up and answer the door for you.” Debbie mumbled as she got up.

 

“I can’t understand what you’re saying, but I lost my key remember?” Debbie opened the door to see Tammy on the other side. Frowning she turned around and made her way back to the couch as Tammy let herself in and shut the door. “Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

 

“It’s in my room and I’m not in my room.”

 

“I can see that, but don’t you think, considering we have a very important event tomorrow you should keep it closer?”

 

Debbie, sulking on her couch, pulled the hood to the plush stark white robe she was wearing on. “You know my process.”

 

Tammy did in fact know Debbie’s process. She also knew something happened for Debbie to be acting this way.

 

“Now, I know Elisa is still just a baby, but I’ve had enough practice with Tom’s nieces and nephews to know how to handle a petulant toddler when I see one.” Debbie gave Tammy a look that let her know she didn’t appreciate the comparison.

 

“I’m fine, I’m just…. Tired. It’s been a rough couple of months.”

 

“Really? Because up until yesterday you were just fine.”

 

“I guess…. I guess it just sort of caught up with me all at once.” Debbie hugged the box of snacks she was inhaling closer to her chest.

 

Tammy peered over to the end table by the couch and saw exactly what she knew she’d find. She made herself comfortable and stuck her hand in the box Debbie was holding grabbing some crackers knowing full well that whatever it was that happened was big enough to really, really upset her friend. She extended her arm as they both watched TV and without even needing to say a word Debbie handed her the can of processed cheese.

 

“God, this is awful. I don’t know how you can eat this. I don’t know why  _ I’m _ eating this.”

 

Debbie shrugged and took the can from Tammy topping her own cracker.

 

“I thought Lou was weaning you off trash food?” 

 

Debbie visibly stiffened at the mention of Lou and instantly Tammy knew what the reason for Debbie’s mood was. She quietly sat with Debbie for a bit longer as they both watched the documentary playing. Tammy grabbed another cracker before she spoke.

 

“What time are we meeting Lou at the reception venue? Because I was thinking it would be better if you went ahead of me and-”

 

“At five, but you should go first. I’ll hang back and make sure the bride leaves the church on time.”

 

“No, I think you should leave early and meet up with Lou at the reception. You two were the ones that put the menus and everything else together so it only makes sense if you get there first.”

 

For ten minutes Debbie didn’t say a word. Just when Tammy was about to ask her why she was so reluctant to meet up with Lou first Debbie uttered simply one word, “fine.”

 

Tammy slowly put a cracker in her mouth as she eyed Debbie suspiciously. “Something happened.”

 

Debbie didn’t say a word.

 

“Tell me what happened.”

 

“Nothing happened. I just think you’re better at making sure everything is perfect for when guests arrive.”

 

“Debbie, that’s bullshit and you know it. Not the part about being being better, the part about nothing happening.”

 

Debbie should have known better than to try to sneak something past Tammy. “It was nothing,” Debbie got up and went to her kitchen, opening the fridge she grabbed two sodas and came back out, handing one to Tammy, “which is why I didn’t mention anything to you.”

 

“I’m not leaving until you tell me.”

 

“There’s nothing to tell, nothing happened.”

 

Tammy, not buying a single word of it, decided to raise the stakes. “Fine, I’ll call Lou. If nothing happened then she can tell me about all the nothing that happened to make you act like a modern day Miss Havisham in a robe instead of a wedding dress.”

 

Tammy pulls her phone out of her purse and unlocks the screen and as she scrolls through her contacts Debbie quickly grabs her phone and places it on the end table. “Don’t do that.”

 

“Can’t you just tell me what happened?”

 

With a dramatic sigh as she tossed her head back Debbie gave in, “fine.”

 

************************

 

Tammy sat there, mouth hanging open, staring at Debbie. “You just  _ left _ ?”

 

Debbie nodded.

 

“Even though she asked you to stay and offered to explain what it was that you saw?”

 

Debbie nodded.

 

Tammy sighed, exhausted at the whole situation, and looked at Debbie for a moment. Debbie’s head hung low and Tammy saw a single tear escape. She was ready to talk some sense into Debbie with some tough love but realized that what her friend needed now was a shoulder to cry on, the tough love could wait. Tammy grabbed Debbie’s phone and pulled up the Netflix app and chose a movie they’d seen a thousand times before and loved. Something familiar that would take Debbie’s mind off her current problems.

 

Hours later Tammy left Debbie, deep in slumber, on the couch. She double checked that Debbie’s alarm was set and quietly slipped out of her apartment.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to Cate! 🎉🎂🍾

__After a beautiful and successfully run wedding, Debbie left the church to meet up with Lou at the reception venue as previously agreed. Debbie arrives at the reception hall and immediately goes into work mode not sparing a single minute to let anything personal get in the way of a job well done. She grabs her tablet and pulls up the scheduling app to make sure everything is on schedule. She comes up to the kitchen door, stops and takes a deep breath before walking in and talking above the clattering sounds so common in an active kitchen.

She asks about the hors d’oeuvres and how far out those are and receives an answer from a short woman wearing a tuxedo with white gloves hanging out of the jacket pocket, “Oh, I just serve the food. For cooking questions you gotta ask the big boss.” 

Debbie knew she meant Lou. “Is there anyone else here that could answer that question for me? I don’t see the  _ boss _ around here anywhere.” Debbie glanced briefly at the rest of the people dressed in tuxedos outside the back door.

“I’m in charge around here so unfortunately you’ll have to talk to me today.” Lou said as she walks in the same back door.

Debbie was feeling a little flustered but would never let it show. “Right. How long before the hors d’oeuvres can be served?”

“About 20 or 30 minutes, they’re being plated right now, right Leslie?”

“On it.”

Debbie recognized that voice. She looked over to a woman with long dreadlocks that stood with her back to Debbie. It was the same woman she saw in Lou’s apartment wearing only a towel. Not expecting to see that woman ever again Debbie was at a loss for words. She watched the shorter woman from before approach the woman she now knew as Leslie and try to sneak some food.

“Stop it, Constance. These ain’t for you.”

“But I’m hungry and everyone knows rich people don’t ever eat all the food they order.”

Debbie laughed involuntarily and both women looked back. Leslie saw her and smiled, “hey.”

Not one to be unprofessional Debbie returned the greeting. She then called Constance over and stuck her hand in her bag and rummaged around for a bit. A moment later Debbie pulls out a candy bar.

“Yo, a Snickers?! Alright, alright. Thanks, uh….” Constance waited for Debbie to give her name.

“Debbie. Now go eat your candy and let them work in peace.”

“I owe you one!” Constance shouted back as she unwrapped her candy bar.

Debbie smiled wistfully as Constance walked out the door. “That was my last candy bar.”

Not expecting anyone to be paying attention to her she was a bit surprised when Lou spoke up behind her as she approached. “Don’t you buy those in bulk?”

“I used to, but… I’ve been trying to eat less like a stoned teenager as someone so eloquently put it.”

Lou smiled at Debbie playfully throwing her words back at her. She wanted to talk to Debbie, to explain everything but she knew now was not the time. She broke eye contact with Debbie and went back to plating the hors d’oeuvres with Leslie. Debbie looked at the two standing side by side and before her imagination would get the best of her decided to leave the kitchen.

************************

“She wants  _ what? _ ” Debbie places one hand on her hip and the other on one of the stainless steel counters in the kitchen.

“A birthday cake. A vegan and gluten free birthday cake to be precise.”

“Tammy, I swear, if this is your idea of a prank….”

“Debbie, I’m serious. It’s the groom’s aunt’s birthday and she’s his favorite aunt.”

“Where am I going to going to find a vegan birthday cake at this hour on a Saturday night?”

“Vegan  _ and _ gluten free.”

Debbie stared at Tammy, “my apologies, vegan  _ and  _ gluten free.” Debbie says exaggeratedly.

“I know a place.” Lou pipes in as she approaches. 

Tammy perks up, “you do?!”

“Yeah, I have a friend who owns a vegan bakery downtown.”

“Can you call them and see if there’s anything available on short notice?”

A moment later Lou returns to the kitchen. “It’s not a big cake nor is it personalized, but he’s got a cake for about 10 people and he’s willing to hold it for me.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Tammy almost jumps for joy.

“Ten people? That’s not nearly enough.”

“Oh, it’s not supposed to feed everyone, that’s what the wedding cake is for. This one’s symbolic, just so they can sing happy birthday.”

Debbie sighs, “fine, I’ll go pick it up.”

“Oh, and get candles too. Pretty ones.” Tammy smiles at her friend.

“I will get pretty candles. Anything else?” Debbie asks tiredly.

“No, that’s it. You two should leave now.”

Debbie spins around looking at her friend with a wild look in her eyes. “We?”

“Yeah, it’s better if Lou goes with you. She already knows where the bakery is and it  _ is  _ her friend’s shop.”

Debbie clenches her jaw tightly. “Ok,  _ we _ will leave now then.”

After ten minutes in Tammy’s car with Debbie driving Lou speaks up. “You never let me explain.”

Debbie took a deep breath but said nothing.

“You can jump to any conclusion you want, but I just figured you as the type of person that preferred the truth to anything else.”

With a tired sigh Debbie responded, “Lou, it’s none of my business what you do in your personal life.”

“And what is it that I did then? Because you won’t let me get a word in edgewise.”

“That you’re,” Debbie gestured vaguely with one hand, “sleeping with that woman.”

“Her name is Leslie and no I’m not sleeping with her.”

Lou now had Debbie’s attention but Debbie remained silent a few minutes longer.

“She was wearing a towel.”

“Would you have preferred she walk around naked?”

Debbie looks at Lou and almost scoffs, “that’s not what I meant.”

“Leslie wants to bake a birthday cake for her kid sister but doesn’t even know how to make toast, so she asked me to teach her. She had a run in with the stand mixer and we ended up wearing the batter so I let her clean up at my place.” Lou stops there to let Debbie process the information.

“That’s actually very sweet.”

“She is a very sweet person, if you get to know her like I have. When I first moved to New York she was the first friend I made. She helped me get my website up and to run it for me in exchange for some cooking lessons every now and then.”

“Why is she at the wedding today if she’s a website…. person.”

“Web designer. I had someone call in with the flu and I asked her to cover for them last minute and she said yes, under two conditions.”

“What were they?”

“One was to prepare her a meal simple enough where her  _ girlfriend _ would believe she made it and the other was to sort this whole mess out.” Lou gestures between them both.

Debbie didn’t know what to say. She felt kind of silly now having learned the details.

“I like you Debbie. And Leslie knows how  _ much _ I like you. She’s one of my closest friends, she’s the one that helped me find that coffee syrup you like so much so I could buy it.”

“You’ve gotta understand how it looked from where I was.”

“I know, I know.” Lou looked at her hands, “but really she’s the one that insisted I sort this out with you.”

“Well, then, I guess I’ll have to thank her. Come to think of it, the other day Tammy was talking about revamping our website and finding someone to take care of it. Neither of us have the time or knowledge to do it.”

“She’s a bit unorthodox, but she’s great at what she does.” Lou smiles over at Debbie relieved at having finally sorted the whole mess out.

The two quickly fall into their familiar and easy conversation as they continue their drive to the bakery.


	18. Chapter 18

__The Tuesday after the wedding there was a knock at the office door. The delivery man walks in with a gift basket so big he could barely see over it.

 

“Thank you, you can set it down here please.” Tammy instructed.

 

Debbie walks out of the bathroom drying her hands on a paper towel and sees the gigantic gift basket. “Who sent that?”

 

Tammy checked the card, “it’s from Daphne, she says ‘Thank you for the perfect wedding!’ and then she signed it ‘DK xoxo’.”

 

“That basket may just last until her fifth wedding anniversary.”

 

They both sat on the couch and went through the basket sorting out the stuff each of them liked. Twenty minutes later there were three piles, Debbie’s stuff, Tammy’s stuff and a pile of stuff neither of them knew what the items even were. 

 

“What are we gonna do with this stuff?” Tammy says as she munches on the gourmet nut mixture she swiped from Debbie’s pile.

 

“I know someone who’ll know exactly what to do with all this.”

 

************************

 

About 40 minutes later Lou opens the door to her apartment and finds Debbie on the other side carrying a box. 

 

“Oh, wow, you really meant 40 minutes didn’t you.”

 

“I don’t joke around about that kind of thing.”

 

Lou steps aside and lets Debbie in, she places the box on the dinner table and turns back to Lou, “Daphne sent us a gift basket as a ‘thank you’ and there was enough food in there for an army and then some. There were things in there neither of us even recognized, the fancy stuff, so I figured you’d get better use out of them than we would.”

 

Lou approaches the box and looks at Debbie before opening it. They hold each other’s gaze for a moment before Lou looks inside.

 

“Oh, wow, this right here,” Lou holds up a container of caviar, “this is at the very least a small fortune per pound.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Beluga caviar.” Lou looks through the other items.

 

Debbie makes a face, “I’ll stick with my pretzels, thank you very much.”

 

Lou’s laughter dies down and she places the item in her hand back in the box. She comes around to stand on the same side of the table as Debbie. Debbie looks up from whatever interesting spot she was staring at on the chair she was nearest.

 

“Are you busy this Saturday?”

 

Not daring to look away Debbie shakes her head, “no.”

 

“There’s this new restaurant that opened a couple blocks from your place actually and I was hoping you’d like to go with me.”

 

With a small smile that gradually grew Debbie agreed to meet Lou for dinner.

 

************************

 

At 7 o’clock sharp Lou knocked on Debbie’s door. 

 

“Lou, you’re,” she checked her watch, “early. Like, half and hour early.” Debbie looked very surprised, shocked even.

 

“Hello to you, too.” She steps in and explains, “there’s been a slight change of plans so I decided to get here early to let you know to wear something comfortable.”

 

“Ok, alright, I’ll go throw something on then.” Debbie says while not being able to rip her eyes away from Lou. 

 

“Debbie?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“It’s impolite to stare.”

 

Debbie’s head shoots up and she walks aways blushing.

 

No more than 15 minutes later Debbie is ready and they’re out the door. They take a cab to what seems to be an abandoned warehouse. It’s dark except for the lone lightbulb hanging over the door.

 

“Oh, well, this is…” Debbie tries her hardest to not be snarky, “nice.”

 

Lou laughs, “no it’s not, but thank you for trying to be nice. Come on, let’s go inside.”

 

They walk in and Lou closes the door behind them. Debbie sees, in the middle of the room, a comfortable looking couch and a lamp on either end. Lou comes up beside her.

 

“We’ve already done the whole go out to eat thing before our first date so I thought maybe tonight we could stay in, watch a movie and have some take out.” 

 

Debbie smiled and Lou couldn’t help but smile back. “That sounds perfect.”

 

They sat on the couch making themselves comfortable as Lou pressed play on the remote pointed at the projector a few meters above and behind them. As the movie started playing Debbie realized which movie it was.

 

“This isn’t even out yet.”

 

“It’s a gift from Leslie, she says it’s ‘to make sure this date makes a difference’.”

 

“Well, I guess I owe her two ‘thank you’ cards now I suppose.”

 

************************

 

Half way into the movie Lou sees Debbie wrap her arms around herself to keep from shivering. Lou walks around the couch and rummages through a duffle bag then comes back around. She sits and covers herself with a blanket and continues to watch the movie. Debbie looks at her in complete disbelief.

 

“Is there another blanket in that bag?”

 

“Nope, just the one.”

 

Debbie stares at Lou and sees the corner of her mouth barely twitch in an effort to hold back laughter.

 

“Lou! Come on!” 

 

No longer able to hold it in, Lou lets out a proper laugh. “Come closer, it’s big enough for both of us.”

 

Debbie slid closer as Lou lifted the blanket to accommodate her. Debbie sat flush against her and casually laid her forearm against Lou’s thigh as Lou draped her arm around Debbie’s shoulder.

 

An hour later and the movie was over. After a few minutes of stretching Lou gets up to turn off the projector. She closes the app playing the movie but her computer is still projecting onto the big screen. Debbie sees her background and smiles. It’s a picture of Lou, no older than 21, and her grandmother. 

 

“Look at you.”

 

Lou looked up when Debbie spoke and saw what she was talking about. “Yeah, that was a long time ago.”

 

“Do you have anymore pictures of you two together?” 

 

Lou hesitates for a second but pulls up a folder filled with old photos. She joins Debbie back on the couch as the two watch each image fill the screen and Lou tell the story behind each photo. A few photos in an image of a small child without their front teeth, smiling too hard and staticy hair pops up. Debbie gasps and smiles so wide her face hurts.

 

“Is that you?!” Lou nods.

 

“Oh my goodness! Look at you, you were the cutest thing!”

 

“Does that mean I’m not cute now?”

 

“Well, yeah you can still be cute at times, but don’t know if ‘cute’ is the word I’d use to best describe you now.” 

 

By now both are staring into each other’s eyes and sitting so close they can feel each other’s breath on their skin.

 

Debbie didn’t remember closing her eyes or anything else, she could only focus on the lips that were now on hers. The lips she had not so subtly stared at countless times in the past few months. The lips that she had heard her name pass through like the chorus of her favorite song. As Debbie slipped her hand into Lou’s hair she pulled away for air.

 

“I can’t believe I just kissed the Catering Lady.”

 

“What?” Lou laughed out.

 

“That’s what I used to call you back when I still hated you.”

 

“Oh, well, then I feel a bit better for referring to you as The Sour One.”

 

With that Debbie laughed as Lou pulled her in for another kiss.


	19. Chapter 19

“Gosh that’s so romantic!” Tammy practically swooned as Debbie recounted the details of her date with Lou.

 

“I know, I didn’t expect that.” Debbie says as she stirs her coffee.

 

“Oh, I did. She woke up to bake you pastries, she bought that coffee syrup you like, she  _ made you meals _ and you’re gonna sit there and tell me you didn’t expect Lou to be so romantic?” 

 

“Shit, you’re right.”

 

“Are you two going out again?” Tammy slips into her chair and faces Debbie’s desk.

 

As Debbie walks around her desk and pulls her chair out she pauses for a moment, “we haven’t really planned anything but I do want to see her again.” She confirms while sitting.

 

“Then ask her out!”

 

“I don’t even know what to do or where to go. It’s not like I can just cook her dinner. Is ordering take out considered cooking?”

 

“Ok, well, what does she like? Aside from cooking and food, find something she’s into and there’s your date.”

 

Debbie thought for a moment as her computer powered up. She looked through her emails with a smile, Daphne’s wedding had gotten them tons of appointments for other events. 

 

It was a few hours later when Debbie remembered something. She thought for a moment and started doing some research. She searched a few keywords until she found what she wanted. She picked up her phone and dialed the number on the website.

 

“Hi, I was wondering, would it be possible to book out the place for a couple of hours? Yeah, so I have it all to myself with only staff and authorized personnel.”

 

************************

 

Debbie rented a car and picked up Lou bright and early Saturday morning much to Lou’s dismay.

 

“I see you’re not exactly a morning person, are you?”

 

“You’re lucky I like you.”

 

About two hours later they arrived at their destination. They got out of the car and Lou followed Debbie toward a glass door on the building they parked in front of. Lou looked around but didn’t say or ask anything. There was no one in the lobby and the place looked pretty empty leaving Lou to think it was probably closed. She sees Debbie pull out her phone and make a call.

 

“Hi, Jim, it’s Debbie. Yes, we’re in the lobby. Alright.” She puts her phone away and looks over at Lou with a hint of a smile on her face, “he’s on his way in.” She whispers to Lou.

 

A few minutes later the man Debbie was on the phone with walks in and they all shake hands.

 

“Come on, I’ll get you two setup.”

 

With a smile and a special glint in her eyes Debbie slips her hand into Lou’s and pulls her along, “come on, it’ll be fun.”

 

When they step out the door following Jim they’re back outside. It’s the perfect day for what Debbie has planned. The sun is out, the skies are clear and she swears she can hear birds off in the distance. They follow Jim right up until he stops and stands between two go carts. He hands them both helmets and driving gloves, “gas is on the left, brakes on the right. Please remember to fasten your helmets and here, put these gloves on too.”

 

They each accept their gloves and Lou just stares at Debbie as Jim walks back in the door they just came out of. Debbie takes a look at the carts as she slips her gloves on and asks Lou, “which one do you want? Green or silver?”

 

When she looks up at Lou all she sees is a slight smile, but Lou’s eyes giveaway so much more. When Lou was showing Debbie the pictures from her childhood there were a few from when she started going through her stock car racing phase. And since Debbie couldn’t organize an actual stock car race, she figured a closed go kart course would be the next best thing.

 

“Green,” Lou says after buttoning her gloves and approaching her chosen cart, “what are the rules?”

 

“Best out of nine laps?”

 

“Ok, what does the winner get?”

 

“Winner gets to decide their prize.”

 

And with that they’re off to start their race.

 

************************

 

After lunch at a place Debbie hand picked after extensively reading Yelp reviews to make sure it would be up to Lou’s standards, they got ice cream and took a stroll in the park across the street.

 

“Wow, you really had this whole day planned out, didn’t you?”

 

Debbie turns to her and smiles, “you sound surprised. You do remember this is my area of expertise, don’t you? Remember the wedding we just did?”

 

Lou laughs a little, “I know, I know I guess I just… didn’t expect all this.”

 

“Oh, well, I was going to make you dinner but I didn’t want to accidentally poison you or anything. Besides, I figured this would be way more fun.”

 

They walk along and find a park bench under some shade for them to sit on. Lou finishes her ice cream and tosses the spoon and the cup in the bin near the bench. She wipes her hands on her jeans and turns towards Debbie.

 

“So, as the winner I get to decide the prize, yeah?”

 

Debbie slowly nods, “that’s right, you name the prize.”

 

“Are you busy tomorrow night?”

 

“What’s tomorrow?”

 

“Sunday.”

 

“Nope, I’m free.”

 

“I was thinking you could come over, I could make us dinner and we could watch a movie.”

 

“Sounds good to me.”

 

************************

 

It was Sunday night and they’d just finished dinner, both sitting on Lou’s couch legs comfortably tangled.

 

“Your couch is oddly comfortable.”

 

“Thank you, I think.” Lou hands Debbie a wine glass.

 

“It’s just that you don’t seem like someone who spends much time on their couch… so in theory it’s not properly broken in.”

 

“I’ll have you know that I’ve fallen asleep on this couch more times than I care to admit.”

 

“Why?” Debbie asks taking a sip of wine.

 

“I watch TV until too late a lot of the times and also I got the couch before I got my bed so it was either sleep on the couch or sleep on the floor.” Lou swirls her wine around before smelling it.

 

“Well, it’s a shame I didn’t know you then because I have a spare room, you could’ve just slept in there.”

 

“Oh, I don’t know if that would’ve worked.”

 

Debbie looks at Lou curiously, “why not?”

 

“Don’t know that I’d want to sleep in a guest room while at your place.”

 

Debbie looks at Lou with a glint in her eyes, trying to hide her smile behind her wine glass, “Lou, are you implying you would’ve exhibited  _ untoward _ behavior in my residence?”

 

“You say that as if I haven’t caught you staring down my cleavage on more than one occasion.”

 

Debbie laughs as she speaks, “you weren’t exactly  _ supposed _ to have seen me do that, you know.”

 

Lou puts her wine glass down on the coffee table and takes Debbie’s and does the same. She shifts closer to Debbie and threads her fingers into her dark head of hair at the base of her neck, “I know, but I’m glad I did.”

 

She kisses Debbie then, slowly and sensually. Savoring every sensation and taste caused by Debbie’s lips. Debbie wraps her arms around Lou’s neck releasing a low moan that is music to Lou’s ears. Lou’s free hand moves to Debbie’s waist, under her shirt, her thumb slowly and softly caressing the skin under it. Lou moves to her jaw, then to the spot just behind her ear.

 

“Mmm that feels nice.” Debbie can feel Lou smile on her skin and revels in the feeling. Lou’s hand moves up Debbie’s waist until her thumb runs into the edge of Debbie’s bra.

 

“Hang on.” Debbie momentarily dislodges herself from Lou’s grasp and removes her bra from under her shirt.

 

“That will always be one of the hottest things a woman can do.” 

 

“How about you? Aren’t you gonna get rid of yours too?”

 

“Not wearing one, darling.”

 

And now it’s Debbie’s turn to feel a rush of excitement as she pushes Lou onto her back and pulls off her shirt.

 

************************

 

On Monday morning Debbie stirs awake and it takes her a minute to recognize her surroundings. She stretches as she smiles and closes her eyes again briefly. She turns over to see Lou lying next to her sound asleep, so she watches her a minute. She realizes she has to get up but really doesn’t want to. Against her will she slowly rubs her fingers down Lou’s arm all the way to her hand then bringing it up to kiss the back of her hand.

 

After a few tries Lou finally wakes up. She opens her eyes seeing Debbie first and immediately smiles.

 

“Morning.” Debbie says softly. After a good stretch Lou turns to face her and returns the greeting. She pulls Debbie’s hand over also giving her a kiss on the back of her hand. 

 

“I could get used to this, waking up next to you.”

 

“Mm, me too.” Debbie’s smile reaches her eyes. “I have to go though.”

 

“Already?”

 

“Yeah, we have a few new client meetings in a couple of hours.”

 

“That’s a shame. I was planning on a repeat of last night.”

 

Debbie smiles and hums pleasedly, “Believe me I would much rather be in bed all day with you than being stuck in meetings all day.” Debbie scoots over and gives Lou a slow and lazy kiss. “Can I use your shower?”

 

“Of course, I’ll go get you a towel, be right back.”

 

“Maybe you can hop in with me?” Debbie says with a glance over her shoulder as she walks into Lou’s bathroom.


	20. Chapter 20

**ONE MONTH LATER**

 

“Louuuuu, I’m gonna order pizza.”

 

Lou walks out of her bedroom no longer wearing a blazer, tie loose, and unbuttoning her vest. “The refrigerator is loaded with leftovers…” Lou stated with confusion at Debbie’s announcement.

 

“There are two containers, first off and both of them have spinach in them.”

 

“Debbie, you ate that same dish last night and loved it.”

 

“I most certainly did not eat spinach and love it.” Debbie says indignantly.

 

Lou cocks her hip and places a hand on each causing her vest to fall open. Debbie briefly looks down.

 

“Yes you did. And you were fine with it when I told you it had spinach in it.”

 

“I thought you were joking!” Debbie glanced down again and slowly made her way to Lou.

 

Lou feels Debbie slip her hands in her vest and up her back pulling her closer. She pulls Debbie in for a dizzying kiss. “I never kid around about food.”

 

Giving Lou her signature mischievous smile Debbie walks past Lou into her bedroom and pulls her along.

 

************************

 

**THREE MONTHS LATER**

 

It was Labor Day and Tammy had invited Debbie and Lou to her house for an End of Summer Farewell Party as stated in the email. Debbie was in the pool with Eliza splish splashing from the new unicorn raft Debbie had gotten her. Lou was monitoring the grill as Tom watched her every move practically whimpering like a dog every time the breeze blew a whiff of the food towards him. Tammy sat with her feet in the pool and chatted with Debbie.

 

“Did I tell you she said her first word the other day?”

 

“What was it?”

 

“Yum”

 

“She’s her father’s daughter alright.” The two laugh for a few moments until Debbie starts asking Eliza ‘can you say yum for Aunt Debbie?’

 

After a few minutes Tammy takes a sip of her sangria and says quietly, “how are you handling it all today?”

 

Debbie doesn’t respond right away. She knows exactly what Tammy is referring to. Labor Day often fell on Danny’s birthday and this was the first birthday after his death. She puts her palms up so Eliza can high five them and looks back over to Tammy.

 

“It’s, uh, it’s weird. I called Tess last night to check on her. She was sad, of course, but she was glad I called. She doesn’t wanna lose touch and neither do I.” Debbie adjusts Eliza’s sun hat and continues, “it’s not easy, but it’s less hard with Lou around.”

 

Tammy smiles at her friend, “I’m happy you two finally got together.”

 

Debbie glances over at Lou handing Tom a plate with a pile of grilled vegetables. “I think Tom is also happy Lou and I are together.”

 

Tammy looks back to see Tom working hard on some grilled corn. Tom and Lou had become fast friends, Lou loves to cook and Tom loves to eat. “I bet you if we left right now Tom wouldn’t even notice.” Tammy chuckled.

 

“He would eventually if we took the dessert with us.” 

 

And as if on cue Eliza shouts ‘yum!’ and splashes some water about.

 

************************

 

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

 

Eliza was officially a year old. It was her second Thanksgiving but her first eating solid food. She sat in her high chair at the table with Debbie, Lou, Tammy and Tom. As they ate Debbie looked around and truly felt thankful. A year ago on this very day she was receiving news that her brother had died. Now she was surrounded by people she loved and who loved her back. Some more than others she thought as she watched Eliza stuff a handful of mashed potatoes into her mouth.

 

After dinner was over Tammy didn’t let either of them set foot in the kitchen. She was adamant about cleaning up on her own which meant Tom was going to help her. “Just check on her if she cries.” Tammy said handing over the baby monitor to Debbie as she sat outside with Lou. The sun had already set and it was cold outside. They sat under two blankets by the fire pit where they’d be joined by their friends soon enough. Debbie had been quiet and Lou knew why, she didn’t say anything because she wanted Debbie to do things on her own time.

 

“I can’t believe it’s already been a whole year.” Earlier Debbie called Tess.

 

“And you’re doing ok?”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Debbie nodded, “better than I thought I’d be.” She brought Lou’s hand up to her face and kissed the inside of her wrist.

 

************************

 

**THREE MONTHS LATER**

 

“I’m so tired of this weather. I can’t remember what it’s like to feel warm. When does spring start?”

 

“In about a month like it does every year.” Debbie casually replied as Tammy pulled her coat tighter around her body.

 

“It was so nice and warm in the office, why did I agree to this.”

 

“It was like a bayou in there, first of all, and you’re here to help me decide which apartment I like best.”

 

Tammy smiles, “just a year ago you couldn’t stand her and now you two are in love and moving in together. It’s funny how things work out.”

 

Debbie tries hard not to smile, “yeah, yeah, well she was very annoying in the beginning.”

 

“And you were such a sweetheart weren’t you?”

 

“She was late, you know how I feel about tardiness.”

 

“But her tardiness didn’t stop you from blatantly checking her out did it?”

 

“If i buy you some hot cocoa will you stop talking?”

 

“No, talking keeps me warm, but I will accept the hot cocoa.”

 

************************

 

**FOUR MONTHS LATER**

 

After a few months of unsuccessful apartment hunting Lou had jokingly suggested they live in the loft where they had their first date. 

 

“Is it for lease?”

 

“Oh, it’s mine actually, I bought it a couple months before I took you there.”

 

“Let’s do it, let’s move into the loft.”

 

“Are you serious?” Lou asks in total surprise.

 

“Yeah, of course, why not. It makes perfect sense. It’s big enough for the both of us and then some, it’s far enough away from the noise of the city, but close enough where the commute isn’t too bad. Let’s do it.”

 

So about a month later when Debbie brought in the last box from the moving truck and closed the door with her foot she took a look around and smiled. She walks over to the dinner table and places the box down onto it. She sees Lou in the kitchen sharpening her knives with total concentration. 

 

She waits for her to finish and asks, “don’t you wanna just order something in?”

 

“I’ve been waiting weeks for this brand new stove to arrive and I’m gonna use it.”

 

Debbie smiles fondly at Lou’s excitement over her new toy hoping that the new surprise toy she’d purchased for Lou would arrive soon.

 

************************

 

**ONE MONTH LATER**

 

It’s very early in the morning, so early the sun hasn’t risen yet. Debbie and Lou have packed the bare essentials for their trip.

 

“Are you sure you’re ok with this?”

 

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

“Because you hate helmet hair and you think the position you have to sit in is uncomfortable.”

 

“I do and it is, but I know how much this means to you and I want to do this with you.”

 

Lou smiles as her chest tightens a bit. She makes her way over to the other side of the motorcycle Debbie had gotten her, the exact model she’d been eyeing for some time, and stands in front of her. She pulls Debbie closer by the hips and gives Debbie the crooked grin she knows drives Debbie wild. After a few moments of looking into each other’s eyes she kisses Debbie good and proper. Debbie slips her arms around Lou’s neck and eventually pulls back after a few moments. 

 

“If we keep that up we’ll have to go back inside and postpone this trip for a few hours, maybe a day.”

 

“Maybe a day? I like the way you think.” After a moment Lou looks into Debbie’s eyes again and says with all the seriousness in the world, “I love you.”

 

Debbie brushes her thumb across Lou’s bottom lip and kisses her softly, pulling back she looks up and returns the words just spoken to her, “I love you, too.”

 

With that the two put on their helmets and hopped on the bike for fear that if they kept kissing and looking at each other that way their trip would most definitely be postponed. As they made it out of the city and headed West, the sun rose creating the perfect backdrop to their journey.

 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we've reached the end! I'd like to thank each and every single one of you that read this story, I am so grateful and humbled that you guys stayed with it for the entire journey. It means a lot! Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave kudos, comments and to any/all anons that were kind/sweet enough to pop on over to Tumblr to remind me to update. You guys are all really great :)


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